vertical portrait photo of the remains of dun grugaig broch near Glenelg in the Scottish Highlands
The Broch is an Iron Age dry stone structure of a type which is only found in Scotland. The brochs of Scotland include some of the most sophisticated examples of dry stone architecture ever created. Broch's belong to the archaeological classification of complex Atlantic Roundhouse. The origin of brochs remains disputed. Sixty years ago most archaeologists believed that brochs were built by an influx of broch builders who had been displaced and pushed northward during the Roman invasion of southern England. However, this theory has fallen from favour, since the few radiocarbon dates available point to a much earlier date for the beginnings of broch construction. The best-preserved broch visble today, at Mousa in Shetland, may date from 100BC to 100AD, but other examples throughout Shetland and northern Scotland are known to be older. The earliest radiocarbon dates obtained have been from remains in Shetland and Caithness. Current thought is that brochs were built by local people in the north of Scotland, possibly making use of itinerant craftsmen given the similar design of many examples. The distribution of brochs is centred on northern Scotland. Caithness and the Northern Isles have the densest concentrations, but there are also a great many examples in the Hebrides and Sutherland. Although mainly concentrated in the northern Highlands and the Islands, some examples occur in the borders (for example Edin's Hall Broch), on the west coast of Dumfries and Galloway and near Stirling. This group of southern brochs has never been satisfactorily explained. Brochs vary from 5 to 15 metres in internal diameter, with 3 metre thick walls. On average, the walls only survive to a few metres; the best examples (Carloway, Telve, Troddan, Mousa and Dornaigil) are up to 13m tall, however it is not clear whether all brochs originally stood this high. A frequent characteristic is that the walls are galleried (the outer and inner wall skins are separate but tied together with linkin
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Photo credit: © Michael Sayles / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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