The Broch of Gurness 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 village on the northeast coast of

Mainland Orkney The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of O ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

overlooking

Eynhallow Sound Eynhallow Sound is a seaway lying between Mainland Orkney and the island of Rousay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The tidal indraught is "scarcely felt beyond a line joining Costa Head and the Reef of Quendale". An Iron Age broch, Gurness ...

, about 15 miles north-west of

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

. It once housed a substantial community.

Description

Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it (resembling the set-up at

Mine Howe Mine Howe is an Iron Age subterranean man-made chamber dug 6 meters (20 feet) deep inside a large mound. It is located in the Tankerness area of Orkney, Scotland, about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney. The origin of ...

). It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground. The remains of the central tower are up to high, and the stone walls are up to thick. The roof probably was conical or mildly hyperbolic. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack. The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use. The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A "main street" connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages. Pieces of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a "King of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

" submitted to

Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor a ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

in 43 AD.Moffat, Alistair (2005). ''Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History''. London. Thames & Hudson. pp. 173–4. At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as

Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ear ...

ish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead. In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too. The broch is 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 ...

Gallery

File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (2).JPG, Broch of Gurness File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (18).JPG File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (15).JPG, Entrance to the main building File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (10).JPG, Detail of the wall File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (19).JPG File:Broch of Gurness in summer 2012 (22).JPG, View from the south

References

External links

* *Historic Environment Scotland
Visitor guide
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Gurness The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village on the northeast coast of Mainland Orkney in Scotland overlooking Eynhallow Sound, about 15 miles north-west of Kirkwall. It once housed a substantial community. Description Settlement here be ...

Prehistoric Orkney Historic Scotland properties in Orkney Museums in Orkney Archaeological museums in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Orkney Mainland, Orkney

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links