Caisteal Grugaig (or Dun Totaig) is an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ...

near the eastern end of

Loch Alsh Loch Alsh (from the Scottish Gaelic ''Loch Aillse'', "foaming lake") is a sea inlet between the isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also used to describe the surrounding country and the feuda ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

().

Location

The broch is located in the district of

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Loch ...

, and is about 9 kilometres northwest of

Shiel Bridge Shiel Bridge is a village on the south east shore of Loch Duich at the foot of Glen Shiel, in the Lochalsh area of the Scottish Highlands. It is in the council area of Highland. The village of Ratagan is south east of the village. The A87 road ...

. It stands on a small rocky knoll on a grassy slope. The "Glenelg Brochs" of

Dun Telve Dun Telve ( gd, Dùn Teilbh) is an iron-age broch located about southeast of the village of Glenelg, Inverness-shire in the Highland Region of Scotland. It is one of the best preserved brochs in Scotland. Location Dun Telve () stands on the n ...

and

Dun Troddan Dun Troddan ( gd, Dùn Trodan) is an iron-age broch located about southeast of the village of Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland. Location Dun Troddan () stands on a level rock platform north of ...

are a few miles to the south. Caisteal Grugaig should not be confused with the "semi-broch" known as

Dun Grugaig Dun Grugaig (or Caisteal Chonil) is a D-shaped dun, or "semi- broch", located about 7 kilometres southeast of the village of Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland (). Location Dun Grugaig stands on the north bank of the Abhainn a’Ghlaine Bhig, in the ...

which is also near Glenelg.

Description

The broch has an external diameter of around 16.5 metres and an internal diameter of around 9.6 metres. The broch was built on uneven ground, so the natural floor of the broch has a slope. The entrance passage is on the northeast side and has a massive triangular

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

over the doorway. There is an elongated guard cell on the left side of the entrance passage. Caisteal Grugaig entrance

The interior of the broch has two intramural rooms at ground level, one of which is a small, oval cell. The other is a long mural cell, or length of ground gallery, which has a blocked doorway. The sides of an upper room are apparent above the entrance passage. Also inside the broch is a doorway to the mural stair. The five steps of the stair lead up to a long landing which leads to the beginning of a second flight of stairs.

Excavations

The broch was cleared out in 1889 and no detailed record of the excavation seems to have survived. Another attempt at excavation was conducted in 1924 with minimal results. In the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

is a decorated

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...

cup apparently from this site.

Notes

External links

{{Coord, 57.26649, -5.539271, display=title Brochs Scheduled monuments in Scotland Archaeological sites in Highland (council area)