The ‘Broch’

Structure A: An excavated area of the interior of the building, showing the masonry of the inner wall face, and a teardrop-shaped, partly corbelled chamber within the wall of the building.

Structure A

Structure A is the broch, or Atlantic Roundhouse, a massive sub-circular structure, at least 22 metres in overall diameter.

Its walls are five metres thick, with an internal diameter of over 11 metres.

It is extremely well-preserved, with the remains reaching 1.6 metres in height at some points.

The thick, outer walls contain at least two “intramural” chambers and the remains of a staircase, indicating that this was a truly monumental, multi-storey building.

Remains of the Staircase within the walls of Structure A under excavation.

So far, from the investigations of the interior, some well-preserved internal fixtures and fittings have been uncovered, as well as a series of floor deposits of laid clay and flagstones and a healthy rate of artefact finds.

However, further excavation is required to establish whether the structure would be readily acknowledged by purist “brochologists” as a fully-fledged broch or if it might be an earlier forerunner.

Either way, the discoveries here should contribute a great deal to the study of the Iron Age in Scotland.