Dun Telve ( gd, Dùn Teilbh) 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 a ...

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 ...

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 north bank of the Abhainn a’ Ghlinne Bhig, in the lower reaches of Gleann Beag. It lies next to the minor road which leads south from Glenelg. The neighbouring broch of

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 ...

lies to the east, and 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 ...

is around further east.

History

It is thought that the broch was robbed for stone in 1722 (probably for the building of

Bernera Barracks Bernera Barracks is in Glenelg in the West Highlands of Scotland. The barracks were constructed between 1717 and 1723 as part of a campaign by the British government to subdue the local population which had risen up in arms in the Jacobite Rising ...

in Glenelg). Dun Telve was popular with tourists by the late 18th century, and was first sketched in the late 18th century. It was surveyed in detail in 1871–1873 by Henry Dryden. The building was brought into state care between 1882 and 1901 and the boundary markers that define the area of guardianship are still visible. Around 1914 a programme of works was undertaken by the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the England, English Royal Household, royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of W ...

which included "clearing out" the interior, inserting concrete into the upper intramural space and pointing the internal wall-face. The broch has never been archaeologically excavated. The broch is now in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

Description

The broch consists of a drystone tower which measures in diameter, and currently stands to a maximum height of to the west and northwest. The external walls are thick at the base and thick at the top. The entrance is on the west but it has been modified, probably in the mid-19th century. On the south side of the entrance passage is a small side-chamber, sometimes called a "guard cell". A doorway on the north side of the interior of the broch provides access first to an internal cell and then to the intramural space that narrows as it rises through to the top of the surviving wall. Access up the tower is by a winding stone stair, and openings at intervals once gave access to the upper floors. The presence of two horizontal stone ledges, or scarcements, up the height of the surviving section suggests that there were two upper floors. The top floor would have been around above ground level. Structures appended to the west and northwest sides of Dun Telve include at least one rectangular building.

References

External links

Glenelg Brochs: Dun Telve And Dun Troddan
Historic Scotland {{Broch Archaeological sites in Highland (council area) Brochs Historic Environment Scotland properties Scheduled monuments in Scotland