Place Name Projects
Place name helps locate where steatite bowls were cut out of the rock at Kleber Geo, LunnastingZoomThe Shetland Place Names Project has been involved in a number of research projects and collaborations both with colleagues within Shetland Amenity Trust and with a number of external organisations.
Internal research projects have included helping archaeologists locate kleber (soapstone) deposits through place names, identifying links to Dutch and German traders through place names and a project to inlay place names on recycled glass pavers. One interesting project identified Shetland place names throughout the world, where emigrants maintained a link with their home islands through their house and street names.
Hamfarers study a display of placenames from around the worldZoomWork with external agencies has included researching place names relating to cattle for the Shetland Cattle Breeders Group and working in partnership with Shetland Arts Writing Prize featuring place names in poetry.
An introduction to some of these topics can be found in issues of The Shetland Life, from December 2006 to November 2011. (Available from Shetland Archives)
