Mousa Broch Under Inspection: Caring for 2,000 Years of History
I was delighted to join the team from Historic Environment Scotland as they recently headed to the island of Mousa to inspect the 2,000-year-old Mousa Broch.
We made the crossing to Mousa with Rodney and sons Darron and Brendon Smith aboard their boat, Alamootie. The name comes from the Shetland word for the storm petrel - a small, nocturnal seabird that nests within the island’s ancient broch.
It’s a name that crops up elsewhere too, with the Shetland Soap Company creating an Alamootie range inspired by the bird, complete with a musky, wood and plant-based fragrance reflecting its dark blue and green tones.
The Fair Isle ferry Good Shepherd passing us due to essential maintenance at the Grutness Pier. The normal 2.5 hour sailing is now 4.5 hours due to the increase in distance to and from Lerwick Harbour. The Good Shepherd timetable is available to view at https://www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/goodshepherd_timetable.html
Choppy conditions as we approach Mousa.
The team from Historic Environment Scotland unload their kit from the Alamootie and make their way towards Mousa Broch - no easy task with so much heavy equipment to carry.
Bright jackets dot the landscape as the team head towards Mousa Broch, offering a striking sense of scale against the 2,000-year-old stone tower.
A well-earned pause at the end of the day, as the Historic Environment Scotland team gather for a group photo in front of Mousa Broch before packing up their equipment and making their way back to the pier for the boat to the Shetland mainland.
The weather had come good too, with blue skies appearing after a cloudy start.
It was a real pleasure to watch the Historic Environment Scotland team in action, carrying out this specialist maintenance and conservation work. Their hands-on approach - carefully checking the stonework by hand - highlights the level of skill and attention required to help preserve Mousa Broch for future generations.
For a structure that has stood for over 2,000 years, its condition is nothing short of remarkable - all the more so given its exposure to the full force of the Shetland weather, and a lasting tribute to the skill of those who built it.
