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A small lock'n'lock box with room for logbook, pencil and swappables. Located uphill over sometimes rough and boggy terrain. Animals graze nearby.
Thing sites, from the Old Norse Þing, are the early assemblies found throughout Northern Europe as a result of our shared Norse heritage.
When the Vikings and early Norse settlers arrived in a new place they brought with them their customs and legal systems. Political decisions were made at the thing, laws upheld and disputes settled. Proceedings were overseen by the local ruler and the law-speaker (judge), whose job was to memorise and recite the law. At some things, known as Althings, any free man was entitled to vote. At others - Lawthings - the crown and local communities acted together to interpret the law.
The thing was also a focus for religious activity, as well as trade and exchange. At Thingvellir in Iceland you can still see the remains of the booths, or huts, where traders came to do business with people attending the meeting.
The thing system for sharing and legislating power can still be recognised today. Several things continue to be active. The Icelandic parliament is still known as the Althing, the Norwegian parliament is called the Storting and the Faroese parliament goes by the name of Løgting. The Manx parliament, known as Tynwald, still holds a midsummer court on the thing mound at Tynwald Hill every year.
There are Thing Sites caches in and around the locations of Norse and Viking assembly sites in Norway, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, Orkney, Shetland, Highland Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Follow in the footsteps of the Vikings, and explore some of these fascinating sites.
A quick look at Shetland's parish names will show you that many of them contain the element 'ting'. Each of these names suggests that there was once a thing held in that area. Often we do not know exactly where the thing met, but the name can give us some ideas.
Aith is a small thriving village on the west side of Shetland at the head of large sheltered bay. The village is home to Britain’s northernmost lifeboat station, as well as a leisure centre, swimming pool, primary school and local shop. There is also a popular small boat marina, and local tour operators offer tours of nearby St Magnus Bay from here.
The landscape around Aith has changed dramatically since the Norse settlers first arrived in the area. New housing, and a well-developed waterfront area mean that we can no longer see much of the coastal features which they would have made use of when holding the thing. However, the popularity of the area for mooring small boats demonstrates that Aith continues to be a safe harbour. Many people would have travelled to the thing by boat from surrounding areas, and so a safe and calm place to be able to come ashore would have been essential.
As you walk toward the cache site, make note of the small hillocks to the right of the trackway. Natural mounds make ideal locations for thing sites, and provide a great place for members of the thing to meet and address the gathered crowds. We do not know where the thing would have met at Aith, so as you walk through the landscape try and imagine what it would have been like during the Viking and Norse period. If you were going to hold an outdoor assembly here, where would you chose?
The cache site affords a fine view over the whole of the bay and beyond. Further up in the hill, towards Houlland is the remains of an Iron Age broch. This site is highly visible from the sea to the north and the south, and features some of the traditional ‘meids’ (a method of navigation involving lining up features on the land while at sea) which were used by Shetland fishermen until relatively recently.
The cache is accessible by a metaled access roadway into the hill. It is possible to take your car up and then walk the final few meters to the cache location, but we recommend leaving it at the head of the trail and walking the entire route to get the most out of the experience. The final few meters are accessed along a rough peat track. The ground can be uneven and boggy at times. Livestock graze nearby.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvqqra va ebpx bhgpebc whfg fbhgu-jrfg bs gur raq bs gur crng genpx