Description

The monument is a broch and associated remains dating to the Iron Age (between 600 BC and AD 400). It survives as a large irregularly-shaped grass-grown stony mound which stands at least 3m high. The broch mound is surrounded by uneven ground where quarrying has taken place in the past, indicating the presence of additional structures outside the broch tower, possibly the remains of a broch village or later settlement. Limited investigations into the mound in antiquity have revealed part of the entrance passage and a probable guard cell on the SE side of the mound. The guard cell was recorded as being an oval corbelled chamber, from which a lintelled doorway leads through to a passage. Elsewhere on the summit of the mound there are traces of possible cells and small sections of exposed drystone walling. To the S of the broch mound are traces of a possible ditch or outer-works and a possible later building. The broch is situated around 5m above sea level at the NW edge of the Loch of Scockness and is bounded by a rocky shoreline on its E side and by the shore of the loch to the S. The monument was first scheduled in 1936, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

The broch mound and associated remains are all contained within an old drystone dyke which defines the edge of the scheduled area to the N, E and W. The scheduled area is irregular on plan to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's use and re-use is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all existing post-and-wire fences and drystone dykes 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 role and function of brochs in northern Britain. Despite some limited past investigation and quarrying, the broch appears relatively undisturbed and seems to be in excellent condition. Considerable remains of the foundations of a substantial and complex broch tower are likely to survive within the mound. Traces of walling, the entrance passage and a guard cell are visible today and the mound is expected to contain other typical structural features, such as intramural stairs and cells. There is also considerable potential to study the development sequence of this site, including whether the broch overlies earlier settlement and whether there is evidence for later reuse of the site. The degree of survival and relatively undisturbed nature of this broch make it a highly impressive example. The monument's importance is further enhanced by its coastal location and the potential to compare the site with the other brochs along the S coast of Rousay and further afield. The loss of this monument would impede our ability to understand the nature of Iron Age society, economy and social hierarchy, both in Orkney and across Scotland as a whole. It would also diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the relationship between the Rousay brochs in their landscape and those in neighbouring Mainland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the site as HY43SW 6.

References

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

Ballin Smith, B (ed) 1994, Howe, four millennia of Orkney Prehistory, Edinburgh, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series 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), Tall Stories?: Two millennia of brochs, Shetland Amenity Trust, Lerwick, 66-77.

Hedges, J 1987, Bu, Gurness and the Brochs of Orkney: Part III: the brochs of Orkney, Brit Archaeol Rep (BAR) British series 165, Oxford, 81.

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 British series 342, Oxford, 244.

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, 266, 79.

Ritchie, J N G 1988, The Brochs of Scotland, Aylesbury

Source: Historic Environment Scotland