Before I visited the Shetland Islands on August 28, 2025, all I knew was that was where Shetland ponies came from. We saw Shetland ponies, but we also saw the impressive Jarlhof excavation, which unearthed structures from five major eras--Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, early Norse, and Medieval.
The Neolithic site dated back 5000 years, to 2500 BC. Neolithic man used fire, but didn't yet smelt metal. Few ruins are left, not just because of the long time since Neolithic people were alive, but because wood, furs, and similar items disintegrated more easily than metal.
In the Bronze Age excavation, there was evidence of a smithy who had created metal tools. The circular dwellings were beginning to have divisions, which probably indicated rooms. Bronze Age people did not yet know how to make iron, however, and so their tools were not very strong.
The Iron Age excavation showed further development, including more and stronger metal, rooms, and an underground storage area.
The Norse excavation had a different shape. Whereas the earlier excavations included round structures, the Norse structures were rectangular.
Our guide explained that round structures don't lend themselves to construction using wood, whereas rectangular structures do. In Norway, where the Vikings came from, there were lots of trees, so the Vikings made rectangular dwellings with trees. There are few trees in the Shetland Islands, but the Norse still used rectangular structures, even though the walls were made of stone and only the roof was made of wood.
The Shetland Islands, like the Orkneys, were first ruled by Norwegian earls, and then by Scottish earls. The ruins of the palaces of the earls, from the late Middle Ages, lie on top of all the other structures.
In the meadow near Jarlhof, stocky Shetland ponies grazed.
Looking at a map of the islands we visited--Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Orkneys, and Shetland Islands--I could see how strategic they are. All those islands have access to the Atlantic Ocean and North America without having to travel close to the European continent. No wonder the British used the Orkneys to park their battleships during World War II, and no wonder the Shetland Islands were used by the Norwegian Resistance, during Norway's occupation by Germany during World War II, to ferry arms and secret information between Norway and Britain.
After leaving Jarlhof, we stopped at a town with cute shops, including the jewelry workshop of Karlin Anderson, who has designed pieces for Princess Kate Middleton.
Hand and machine-knitted caps, gloves, and scarves were sold at another shop in that town. There is plenty of time to knit during the Shetland Islands' long winters.
And then, we made our way back to our ship.
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