A good day's sail from Norway was Jarlshof in the Shetland Islands. Located on the southern side of the islands, it was a stop over point for voyagers making the trip west to Iceland and beyond. This fact, combined with Good Soil, pasterage and abundant fishing waters made Jarlshof an ideal location for a settlement in the 9th century viking age.



Originally settled by the picts, large brochs, or stone towers, were all that remained of the pictish civilization when the northmen arrived. Many of the Viking houses of the settlement were constructed using stone from the the towers.

Nordic and Gaelic culture combined on the islands and has evolved to form the unique culture of the Shetland and Hebrides of today.