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Why was the Brough of Birsay, on the north west coast of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland, chosen as a settlement by the Norse? It was in a very defensible position surrounded almost entirely by sea and only connected to the mainland by a causeway. The land was fertile with good drainage, and fish and seals were abundant. Only ruins of the settlement remain today, including longhouses, a church and what archaeologists believe was a sauna.

Students could be given an aerial view of the Brough of Birsay, or another Viking settlement, and consider what the different buildings might have been. Students could use the aerial image as a base to build a 3D model of the Viking settlement as they imagine it, using plasticine, construction toys, or art and craft materials.