Description

The monument comprises the remains of a early Christian chapel and burial ground situated at the N end of Papil Bay. The monument is already scheduled, but was wrongly located on the map. This rescheduling corrects the error.

The visible remains take the form of a triangular mound with a slightly hollowed centre. Erosion seems to have removed part of the remains on the SE side, and in the eroding section are revealed midden deposits which seem to be of late Iron Age date, suggesting a continuity of use for the site from pre-Christian times. The place name, Papil, implies a Christian presence at the time of the Norse settlement in the early ninth century AD.

The area now to be scheduled is approximately triangular, bounded on the SE by the edge of the eroding shoreline (high water mark of ordinary spring tides) and on the N by the S side of an access road. It measures a maximum of 30m N-S and 30m E-W, as shown in red on the accompanying map extract. All fences are excluded to allow for their maintenance and replacement as necessary.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a site with proven archaeological remains which may span the pre-Christian to Christian transition, and has such great potential to contribute information about the nature of pre-Norse secular and ecclesiastical activity in Shetland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the site as NT12NW 5.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland