Iron age sites considered by Unesco

Mousa Broch, is a part of the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland heritage application.

Island settlements which are thousands of years old could join the Taj Mahal and Stonehenge as world heritage sites.

Mousa Broch, Jarlshof and Old Scatness – three former historic settlements – could join a prestigious list of sites protected by Unesco for their cultural importance after being put forward by the UK government

Known as the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland on the tentative list of locations, the sites are joined by six others which have been selected for consideration by Unesco.

Archaeologist Dr Val Turner said she is “thrilled” that Shetland could host such a place and is looking forward to progressing the nomination within the next 10 years.

She said: “We have already experienced the benefits of being on the previous tentative list, which has attracted first-class research to Shetland.

“We are currently working to conserve Old Scatness – a key milestone along the road.”

If successful, the sites would join the Forth Bridge, New Lanark, the Tower of London and the Lake District as UK cultural entries on the heritage list.