© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
The Cunningsburgh steatite workings north and south of Catpund Burn is a prehistoric quarrying site located in Shetland, Scotland, where steatite (soapstone) was extracted for the manufacture of vessels and other domestic items. Steatite working sites of this character are typical of Shetland's Iron Age and Norse periods, when the soft, heat-resistant stone was valued for cooking vessels and decorative objects. The workings comprise evidence of quarrying activity across both banks of the Catpund Burn, with surface features indicating the extraction and processing of raw material. Sites of this type reflect the economic importance of steatite exploitation in Shetland's medieval and prehistoric economy.
Cunningsburgh,steatite workings N and S of Catpund Burn is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4521. View the official record →
The Cunningsburgh steatite workings north and south of Catpund Burn is a prehistoric quarrying site located in Shetland, Scotland, where steatite (soapstone) was extracted for the manufacture of vessels and other domestic items. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM4521.
Cunningsburgh,steatite workings N and S of Catpund Burn is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM4521.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Broch of Burraland, broch 890m E of Curefield (4.4 km), Mousa, broch (4.6 km), Mousa,burnt mounds 220m ENE of Broch of Mousa (4.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cunningsburgh,steatite workings N and S of Catpund Burn's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Cunningsburgh,steatite workings N and S of Catpund Burn stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Neoproterozoic, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is ultramafitite.