The broch diary of Useless
Useless is the network’s eraser-in-residence. This time it has been posted halfway up a broch stair with a notebook and a very small torch. Every fact in here has been checked by someone more qualified, i.e. anyone.
- Day 1
Brochs are found only in Scotland. Erasers are found everywhere, mostly under the sofa. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories
- Day 2
Mousa has the smallest diameter of any broch, but the thickest walls. I am small with thick walls too. It is called being an eraser. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch, history and stories
- Day 3
A stone stair corkscrews up between a broch’s two walls. My stairs are a pencil on its side. I have never reached the top. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories
- Day 4
Mousa’s name means “the fort of the mossy island”. My name means nobody could think of anything better. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
- Day 5
An earl found Mousa “an unhandy place to get at”. That is what the pencil sharpener says about me. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch, history and stories
- Day 6
At Dun Beag, 20 steps of the stair still survive. I counted them twice and rubbed out the second count. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Beag Broch, history and stories
- Day 7
Small seabirds called petrels nest in the gaps in Mousa’s walls. The gaps in my pencil case are full of crumbs. Nobody nests there. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
- Day 8
Mousa’s upper galleries have floors only one flagstone thick. My floor is one desk thick, and I still fall off it. Historic Environment Scotland blog: Getting the measure of brochs (18 October 2019)
- Day 9
Dun Troddan’s ground floor may have held livestock, with people upstairs. In my house the pencils live downstairs. They are very noisy. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
- Day 10
At Midhowe there is an iron-smelting hearth, but no sign of iron working. That is like finding my eraser crumbs and no homework. Historic Environment Scotland: Midhowe Broch, history and stories
- Day 11
People at Gurness ate cod, whale and seal. I had a crisp once. It was a big day. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness, history and stories
- Day 12
Dun Carloway was a kiln, a shelter and a family home. I have been a doorstop, a bookmark and, once, an eraser. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Carloway, history and stories
- Day 13
Wheelhouses are named after the spokes of a wheel. I am named after what I do. Mostly. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories
- Day 14
Dun Dornaigil’s inside has never been dug by archaeologists. My inside has never been dug by anybody. Please keep it that way. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories
Want more of Useless on paper? The Iron Age Brochs Family Activity Pack has colouring pages, a broch stair maze, spot the difference, a design-your-own-broch page, Useless the Eraser’s broch jokes and a 20-question quiz to do together (paid download, $3.49 USD, A4 and US Letter).