This article was written during the author’s doctoral research at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), the University of Dundee, with supervision from Professor Nigel Johnson and Dr Chris Rowland. This PhD research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in partnership with DJCAD, University of Dundee. Thanks are due to Kieran Duncan, Nuria Valdeon and Alice Watterson, who provided critique and additional photographs, as well as to Anthony Masinton and Judith Winters who facilitated the article.
The 'Jarlshof' animated outcome was completed at DJCAD in partial fulfilment of an MSc in Animation and Visualisation. Such multimedia projects require a broad range of support and as such I would like to acknowledge some of the many contributors to the practical side of the project here.
Firstly, thanks go to supervisors Dr Chris Rowland and Dr John McGhee, along with numerous other staff and colleagues at DJCAD. The fieldwork was facilitated by generous support from Historic Scotland who assisted in sponsorship, site access and advice on various aspects of the project. Particular thanks are due to Interpretation Manager Kit Reid, Architectural Technician Scott Hamilton, Monument Manager Sue Mellor, and many others who offered their support along the way.
Special thanks go to Allan Smith and the staff at Sumburgh Airport Air Traffic Control, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, for accommodating kite-flying activities at Jarlshof. Valuable advice offered by James Gentles, Dave Mitchell and other members of the kite aerial photography community also facilitated that aspect of the project.
Kieran Duncan, Mark Grossi and Nuria Valdeon ably assisted during the two phases of fieldwork and some of their photographic contributions have been used in this article. Kite aerial photography of the Scottish Crannog Centre was made possible thanks to the boat-handling skills of Dan Baxter. Similarly, Geordie Mainland and Alan Halcrow of Shetland Sea Charters facilitated kite aerial photography at Mousa Broch.
Alice Watterson, Glasgow School of Art, modelled the reconstructed phases of the Norse and later periods while Thomas Hogben contributed to the simulated weather effects. The musical score was provided by Tomasz Gierygowski.
Among the numerous individuals who offered invaluable advice on the interpretation of the site – but are in no way responsible for any speculations or omissions that I have chosen to make - particular thanks go to Barrie Adrian, Ian Armit, Kirsty Owen, Olwyn Owen and Val Turner. The generous efforts of these individuals, and many more not named here, facilitated both the project and the animated outcome.