Zenith of Iron Age Shetland

[3][4] Other Scottish sites on the application list included Arbroath Abbey; Buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow; and St Andrews, Medieval Burgh and Links,[3][5][6] but only the Forth Bridge and the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland joined Shetland in the short list for future application.

I am delighted that so many of Scotland's attractions have stepped forward and answered the UK government's call for world heritage status.

"[10] The Shetland site falls under the UNESCO definition of a "serial property" that includes component parts related because they belong to "the same historico – cultural group".

Established in 1996, this organisation represents communities across the UK "which have existing or potential World Heritage Sites within their areas.

The Bronze Age settlers left evidence of several small oval houses with thick stone walls and various artefacts including a decorated bone object.

The Viking-age ruins make up the largest such site visible anywhere in Britain and include a longhouse; excavations provided numerous tools and a detailed insight into life in Shetland at this time.

The most visible structures on the site are the walls of the Scottish period fortified manor house, which inspired the name "Jarlshof" that first appears in The Pirate, an 1821 novel by Walter Scott.