Description

The monument is a substantial broch mound dating probably from the Iron Age (between about 600 BC and AD 400). The broch mound is circular in plan, approximately 17m in diameter, and stands up to 2.5m high. The outer wall-face of the broch tower is visible for at least 10m around its NW side. The ground around the broch mound is unimproved and has an uneven surface, possibly indicating the presence of other buildings surrounding the broch tower. This area also includes the remains of a post-medieval farmstead. The broch mound is located on a slight rise some 60m from the coast, at 20m above sea level. It has extensive views to the S and SE towards Eynhallow Sound. The monument was first scheduled in 1935, 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.

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. This is an impressive and well-preserved example of a large broch mound in an exceptionally rich archaeological landscape. By analogy with excavated brochs in Orkney, this monument is likely to retain its structural characteristics to a marked degree and will have a complex development sequence: it may overlie earlier remains and will probably include evidence for later re-use of the site. Its importance is enhanced because it is one of three substantial brochs in close proximity along this stretch of coast in Rousay and there is high potential to study the relationship between them. The monument is also part of a wider landscape of prehistoric and early medieval remains in this part of Rousay, which contains an exceptional concentration of archaeological sites and is an important source of evidence for social and economic change in northern Scotland over several millennia. 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 be a significant loss from an exceptionally important archaeological landscape in Rousay.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the site as HY33SE 11.

References

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

Armit, I 2005, 'Land-holding and inheritance in the Atlantic Scottish Iron Age'. 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, 129-143.

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, 202, no. 557.

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

Source: Historic Environment Scotland