Shetland Folk-Lore
wick; at Scraefield, in Balliasta; and at the foot of Saxaford Hill, near the Noup of Burrafirth. Those subterranean dwellings or hiding-places are more numerous than we are apt to imagine. There are three places near the seashore north of Scuddleswick, in Nesting, where, I believe, the remains of this class of dwelling may be seen. A great mass of stones in a small, cup-like hollow where the ground is very deep can only be accounted for as fallen-in earth houses. One of these has been a sort of double circle something like the figure 8; and in the neighbourhood are two burial mounds, viz., at the burn of Scuddleswick and the burn of Whinalea.
Natural caves and hellyers along the sea coast were no doubt used by those early inhabitants as places of retreat. The names of some of these, together with legends connected with them, lead to this conclusion. For example, the Hellyer o’ Fivlagord, the Den o’ Pettasmog, the Hole o’ Henkie, and the Ha’ o’ Doon
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