Description

The monument is a broch, a complex stone-built substantial roundhouse, dating from the Iron Age (between 600 BC and AD 400). It is visible as a large mound of stones set on a prominent knoll. The interior of the broch has been partly cleared of rubble and large areas of inner wall face are visible, incorporating openings leading to the entrance, intra-mural stair and a gallery. Beyond the broch tower are remains of an outer bank or wall, with parts of a further bank or wall beyond to the north-northwest and east-southeast. The monument occupies a knoll on a southwest facing slope overlooking the valley of the Golspie Burn standing 180m above sea level. 

The broch tower has an external diameter of about 18.25m. The interior measures 8.24m in diameter and the wall is about 5m thick at the entrance on the W. Most of the entrance lintels remains in position and there are door checks about 3m in from the exterior.  Opposite the entrance on the east side is the doorway to a mural cell or gallery. Another opening on the north side leads to an intramural stair that was visible in the early 20th century. Part of a gallery is also exposed on top of the broch wall. The interior wallface extends about 2.6m above the present floor level, the wall being built of flat stone slabs. The outer wallface is mostly obscured except at the opening of the entrance passage. There are traces of outbuildings between the broch tower and the outer wall which is about 12m distant.

The scheduled area is circular on plan with a diameter of 100m, centred on the broch, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above ground elements of post and wire fences. The monument was first scheduled in 1939, but the documentation does not meet current standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

This monument is of national importance because it can make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular of Iron Age society in northern Scotland and the construction, use and development of brochs. It stands to just above the level of the first floor and preserves evidence for an intra-mural stair, galleries and other architectural features. The monument is an important component of the area's landscape and its importance is enhanced by its association with several other well-preserved brochs around Golspie and Brora. Sketches, notebooks and drawings deriving from the 1846 excavations enhance understanding of the form of the broch. This is a well-preserved example of a broch and its loss would diminish our ability to understand the development and use of brochs and their role in the Iron Age settlement pattern of northern Scotland.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore.html CANMORE ID 6560.

Highland Council HER Reference: MHG 10886.

Ballin Smith, B (ed.) 1994, Howe, four millennia of Orkney Prehistory, Edinburgh, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series 9

MacKie, E W. (2007) The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC-AD 500: architecture and material culture, the Northern and Southern Mainland and the Western Islands, BAR British series 444(II), 444(1), 2 V. Oxford. Page(s): 636-637.

RCAHMS. (1911a) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Second report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Sutherland. Edinburgh. Page(s): 92-3, No. 272

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/6560/

HER/SMR Reference

http://her.highland.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MHG10886

Source: Historic Environment Scotland