Dun Broch on Loch na Muilne, South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Western Isles, Highland. Scotland. SCO 7021
The origin of brochs is a subject of continuing research. Sixty years ago most archaeologists believed that brochs, usually regarded as castles, were built by immigrants who had been displaced and pushed northward first by the intrusions of Belgic tribes into what is now south-east England towards the end of the second century BC, and later by the Roman invasion of southern Britain from AD 43 onwards. The original interpretation of brochs, favoured by nineteenth century antiquarians, was that they were defensive structures, places of refuge for the community and their livestock. They were sometimes regarded as the work of Danes or Picts. From the 1930s to the 1960s, archaeologists like V. Gordon Childe and later John Hamilton[9] regarded them as castles where local landowners held sway over a subject population. The castle theory fell from favour among Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s, due to a lack of supporting archaeological evidence. These archaeologists suggested that defensibility was never a major concern in the siting of a broch, and argued that they may have been the "stately homes" of their time, objects of prestige and very visible demonstrations of superiority for important families (Armit 2003). Brochs vary from 5 to 15 metres (16–50 ft) in internal diameter, with 3 metre (10 ft) thick walls. On average, the walls only survive to a few metres. There are five extant examples of towers with significantly higher walls: Dun Carloway on Lewis, Dun Telve and Dun Troddan in Glenelg, Mousa in Shetland and Dun Dornaigil in Sutherland, all of whose walls exceed m (21 ft) in height. Mousa's walls are the best preserved and are still 13 m tall, however it is not clear how many 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 linking stone slabs, with an open space between). These linking slabs may in some cases have served as steps.
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Location: Dun Broch on Loch na Muilne, South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Western Isles, Highland. Scotland.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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