How to read a broch
A few clues help you see how a broch worked.
This site is about history and about how to read a broch. It gives no travel advice: we do not give opening times, entry, boats, paths or access, because they change. Check with whoever looks after a site before you go.
What to look for
- 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)
- 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
- 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
- Wheelhouses are named for roofs held up by walls that spread out like the spokes of a wheel. Historic Environment Scotland: Jarlshof, history and stories
Which brochs still stand tall?
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
Historic Environment Scotland’s Mousa page says it stands 13 m tall. Historic Environment Scotland: Mousa Broch Dun Telve is more than 20 m across and part of it still stands 10 m high. Historic Environment Scotland: Glenelg Brochs, history and stories
Dun Carloway on Lewis stands 9 m tall and was probably built about 200 BC. Historic Environment Scotland: Dun Carloway
Cleared, drained and measured
Rubble was cleared from Mousa in 1861, and again in 1919. Historic Environment Scotland: Statement of Significance, Mousa Broch (last reviewed 2018)
The water level of the Loch of Clickimin was lowered in 1874. Historic Environment Scotland: Clickimin Broch, history and stories
Mousa has been laser-scanned in 3D, including upper galleries the public cannot reach. Historic Environment Scotland blog: Getting the measure of brochs (18 October 2019)
Next: the big facts page →