From seasonal shore market to town: the emergence of Lerwick in Shetland (Scotland) in the 17th century

<p>During the course of the 17th century Lerwick was transformed from a shore market dependent on the annual arrival of the Dutch herring fleet to a permanently occupied</p> <p>town with houses and a church. The roots of its rapid growth lay in the dispersed minor ports used by German merchants. However, the scale of opportunities offered by the arrival of the Dutch at Lerwick far exceeded that of the existing ports and attracted local merchants to concentrate their activities at the site of the developing town. The plan of the town reflected its origins as a shoreline trading settlement with a concentration of buildings along the edge of the bay. The land on the slope behind the town was divided into long, narrow strips. Test pits excavated on the slope as part of the ‘<em>Looking in From the Edge</em>’ (LIFTE) project shows that waste was dumped there to improve the soil for cultivation. The 17th-century pottery largely comprised redwares from the Netherlands,</p> <p>northern Germany or southern Scandinavia, types of ceramics used on rural farmsteads throughout Shetland. However, there was a greater range of ceramics in Lerwick, reflecting either its wealth or greater access to imported pottery.</p>