Description

The monument consists of an Iron Age defended settlement centred upon a broch and including a number of houses, all situated upon a promontory protected by a ditch and stout masonry forework.

The site has been excavated and is laid out for the public. It is in the care of the Secretary of State.

The earliest element appears to be a deep rock-cut ditch cutting off the promontory. Built partly into this is a solid block of masonry with an entrance passage at the SE side. Behind this forework is a broch, still standing to 4.3m high. The broch tower, which shows signs of having become unstable soon after its construction, is 18m in external diameter and encloses a circular inner area, 9.6m across, within which there is a jumble of inner partitions, tanks and hearths, all of stone.

It is likely that some of these features are later than the broch. Outside the broch stands one complete house foundation, with fragments of several others, including domestic structures located between the masonry forework and the broch. Evidence for metal-working has been recovered from the site.

The area to be scheduled is that enclosed within the fence and wall which define the area in care, and bounded on most of the seaward side by a modern sea-wall. It measures a maximum of 95m NW-SE by 43m, to include the broch, outer works and houses, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as one of the finest field examples of its type. It displays several interesting features, notably the evidence for early instability of the broch wall and the measures taken to stabilise this. Of particular importance is the evidence preserved for the history of use of the site, apparently showing a sequence of defensive and non-defensive use from the later centuries BC through to the mid first millennium AD.

The monument also has considerable remaining archaeological potential, in undisturbed deposits, and could contribute, through excavation and analysis, to the study of the development of prehistoric defensive and domestic architecture, the development of metallurgy and, in general, the late prehistoric domestic and agricultural economy.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as HY 33 SE 2.
Historic Environment Scotland Properties
Mid Howe Broch
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/midhowe-broch
Find out more

Source: Historic Environment Scotland