Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof have moved a step closer to becoming UNESCO world heritage sites after making it onto a UK shortlist known as the “tentative” list. The three sites in Shetland, grouped under the banner The Crucible of Iron Age Shetland, were suggested along with five other locations across Scotland to be assessed by an independent expert panel.
They have now joined 10 other UK or UK-related sites to be put forward to UNESCO for consideration. The other Scottish sites are the Flow Country in Caithness and Sutherland, at around 1,500 square miles the largest area of blanket peat bog in Britain, and the Forth Bridge.
Val Turner from Shetland Amenity Trust, who put together the application for the sites, said: “It's a whole new level of recognition and really ranks them with the best sites in the world. It's very exciting, as it would help us to lever in funding and work in partnerships with other organisations to promote the sites to the best of our ability.