Catpund Quarry and Standing Stone
Catpund Steatite Quarry · Cunningsburgh Quarry
Neolithic to Norse·Shetland Neolithic / Norse·🇬🇧 Mainland, Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom
About
About Catpund Quarry and Standing Stone
Neolithic to Viking steatite (soapstone) quarry and associated standing stone at Catpund, Cunningsburgh, Shetland. Worked from c.3000 BCE for vessel production and intensively in the Norse period, the quarry shows extraction hollows and unfinished bowls still in situ. A nearby small standing stone and short stone row mark the ritual dimension of this industrial landscape, unique among Shetland megaliths.
Why it mattersNeolithic to Viking steatite (soapstone) quarry and associated standing stone at Catpund, Cunningsburgh, Shetland. Worked from c.3000 BCE for vessel production and intensively in the Norse period, the quarry shows extrac
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Neolithic versus Viking phasing of bowls
Theories
- 01Ritual quarry with standing stone marker
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3000 BCE – 1200 CE
- Period
- Neolithic to Norse
- Culture
- Shetland Neolithic / Norse
- Purpose
- Quarry and ritual standing stone
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 3000 BCE – 1200 CE
Initial construction
c. 1011 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
60.0425° N · 1.2214° W · 30 m · 2 mapped features
Steatite quarry faces
quarryExtraction hollows with unfinished steatite bowls in quarry walls
60.0425° N · 1.2214° WCatpund standing stone
standing stoneShort standing stone and row beside quarry
60.0427° N · 1.2216° W