Two walls, a stair and one way in
How a broch tower was put together, and what went on inside.
Jump to: Two walls and a stair | Alone, in a village or by the sea | The way in | Inside | Homes, forts or status? | How were they built?
Two walls and a stair
A broch is a drystone tower made of two walls, one inside the other, with a narrow entrance passage and often small cells off the ground floor. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories A stone stair winds up between the inner and outer walls to the top. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories
At Dun Telve, large flat slabs tie the two walls together and also form the floors of narrow galleries between them. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
Two stone ledges stick out of the inner wall at about 2.1 m and 3.7 m up; they probably held wooden floors. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
The upper galleries have ceilings and floors only one flagstone thick. Historic Environment Scotland blog: Getting the measure of brochs (18 October 2019)
Mousa has the smallest diameter of any broch tower, but much thicker walls. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch, history and stories UNESCO’s Tentative List entry says Mousa’s walls are 5 m thick at the base. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative List, Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof: the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland
Only four brochs still stand close to their original height: Dun Telve, Dun Troddan, Mousa and Dun Carloway. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
Alone, in a village or by the sea
Most brochs are in northern and western Scotland and the islands. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories Many brochs stood alone, but in Orkney and Caithness, including Midhowe and Gurness, some were surrounded by large settlements. Historic Environment Scotland: Midhowe Broch
Gurness is the best-preserved broch village in Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness Gurness is one of at least 10 brochs along Eynhallow Sound in Orkney. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness
The Tentative List entry also says more than 100 were built in Shetland, with similar numbers in Orkney, the North of Scotland and the Western Isles. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative List, Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof: the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland
The way in
At Dun Beag the entrance is a narrow passage, and door-checks show it was once closed by a timber door. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Beag Broch, history and stories
Carn Liath has very thick walls, settings for two wooden door-frames and a small chamber that might have been a guard lodge. Historic Environment Scotland: Carn Liath, history and stories
Part of Dun Dornaigil still stands 7 m high; its triangular lintel stone is the best surviving example in Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Dornaigil Broch, history and stories
Inside
Dun Troddan’s ground floor may once have held livestock, with people living on the upper floors. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories A broken quern-stone for grinding corn is built into Dun Troddan’s hearth. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
Inside Midhowe you can still see stone partitions, a spring-fed water tank and a hearth. Historic Environment Scotland: Midhowe Broch, history and stories
One Midhowe building still has an iron-smelting hearth. Historic Environment Scotland: Midhowe Broch, history and stories Yet the 1930s finds showed bronze-working, “but rather oddly not iron working”. Historic Environment Scotland: Midhowe Broch, history and stories
People at Gurness ate cod, whale and seal. Historic Environment Scotland: Broch of Gurness, history and stories
Homes, forts or status?
Historic Environment Scotland says broch towers had some defensive features, but were most likely built to show the status of the people who lived in them. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Beag Broch, history and stories The owners of brochs were often wealthy people with contacts far away. Historic Environment Scotland: Carn Liath, history and stories
The Statement says Mousa was defensible, but does not look built to withstand a long siege. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
We don’t know who built Clickimin, or whether it was a stronghold or a sign of status; it may have been both. Historic Environment Scotland: Clickimin Broch, history and stories
UNESCO’s Tentative List entry says the use of brochs is debated. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative List, Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof: the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland
Our sources describe what brochs were for in different ways: see when sources disagree.
How were they built?
Brochs are some of the tallest prehistoric buildings in Britain. Historic Environment Scotland blog: Getting the measure of brochs (18 October 2019) How brochs were built is still argued about by architects, engineers and archaeologists. Historic Environment Scotland blog: Getting the measure of brochs (18 October 2019)
In treeless parts of Scotland, people built in stone where others in Europe built in timber. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative List, Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof: the Zenith of Iron Age Shetland
Our sources give dates in different ways, and some disagree by a year or tell a story differently. We copy each figure as its source gives it, rather than converting, so every figure matches its link. Every fact was checked against its source on the date shown on the sources page. See when sources disagree for the open questions side by side.