Description

The monument comprises the remains of a broch with a subterranean chamber dating from the Iron Age (between about 600 BC and AD 400), and the remains of a probable early medieval chapel and enclosure.

The broch tower is about 18m in diameter, with walls approximately 4m thick and standing 2m high. Only the northern half of the broch is upstanding; the southern part was levelled during the construction of a public road in the 19th century. The broch is enclosed on its northern side by a substantial bank and ditch. Immediately S of the road, and lying within the broch foundations, is the entrance to a substantial subterranean chamber accessed by a stone-built stair. The ground to the S of the broch tower is uneven with some edge-set stones visible, indicating the possible presence of an extramural settlement around the broch. The recovery of a steatite bowl with runic inscription suggests there may be a Norse presence on the site. The probable chapel lies 70m S of the broch. It survives as the turf-covered footings of an oval building with an enclosing bank. The building is aligned E-W and measures 10m E-W by 5m transversely. It sits within a rectilinear enclosure approximately 30m E-W by 20m transversely, with walls 1m wide and 0.2m high. The broch and chapel are located on relatively level, unimproved ground N of the Loch of Stenness, at about 5m above sea level. The site has extensive views to the S out over the Loch of Stenness. The monument was first scheduled in 1938, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan and includes the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction and use is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences, gates and the top 300mm of the road surface where it crosses the monument, to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

This monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular of Iron Age society in Orkney and the function, use and development of brochs. The monument also has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between brochs and early ecclesiastical sites, the character of early ecclesiastical sites in Orkney and the nature of early medieval worship and religious practice. The broch retains its structural characteristics to a marked degree and is likely to have a complex development sequence. The monument's importance is enhanced by its association with the wider landscape of Iron Age brochs and prehistoric settlement in Orkney. The loss of the monument would significantly diminish our future ability to appreciate and understand the development, use and reuse of brochs and the nature of Iron Age society, economy and social hierarchy in Orkney and further afield. It would also impede our understanding of early medieval ecclesiastical sites in Orkney and their role in the dissemination of Christianity.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the site as HY21NE 9 and HY21NE 10.

References

Armit, I 2003, Towers of the North: The Brochs of Scotland. Tempus.

Ballin Smith, B (ed) 1994, Howe, Four millennia of Orkney Prehistory, Edinburgh, Soc Antiq Scot Monogr Ser 9.

Ballin Smith, B 2005, 'Orcadian Brochs ' Complex Settlements with Complex Origins', In Turner, V E, Dockrill, S J, Nicholson, R A and Bond, J M (eds) 2005, Tall Stories? Two millennia of brochs, Shetland Amenity Trust: Lerwick, 66-77.

Hedges, J 1987, Bu, Gurness and the Brochs of Orkney: Parts I, II and III, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 163-165.

Lamb, R G, 1980, Iron Age Promontory Forts in the Northern Isles, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 79.

Mackie, E W 2002, The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c. 700 BC ' AD 500: Architecture and Material Culture, Part 1: The Orkney and Shetland Isles, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 342.

RCAHMS, 1946 The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Twelfth report with an inventory of the ancient monuments of Orkney and Shetland, 3v, Edinburgh, 252, no 677.

Ritchie, J. N. G. 1988, The Brochs of Scotland. Aylesbury: Shire.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland