The Broch of Borwick 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 ...

located on

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 ...

, Scotland (). It is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Location

The Broch of Borwick is located 8 kilometres southwest of

Dounby Dounby () is a village on Mainland in Orkney, in the north of Scotland. Dounby village is situated at the crossroads of what are now the A986 and B9057, and has grown close to the meeting point of the three parishes of Sandwick, Birsay and Har ...

. The broch stands on top of a cliff-top promontory 20 metres above the sea. A small stream runs past the site immediately to the east.

Description

The broch has an external diameter of 17 metres and an internal diameter of 8 metres. The walls which are 3.5 to 5 metres thick currently stand to a maximum height of 2.6 metres. The eastern half of the broch and the entrance passage are well preserved, but the western half has been destroyed by erosion. The entrance passage, which is still lintelled over, is 5.6 metres long with door-checks each formed of a slab set on edge 3 metres from the outside. A guard cell opened off the right of the passage. The broch was once cut off from the flat land beyond by an outer wall, and there were outbuildings between the wall and the broch.

Excavations

The site was excavated in 1881 by W. G. T. Watt, and the interior was cleared of debris. Ashes, bones and shells mixed with clay were found under the rubble. Beneath this was a layer of small flat stones and under this the broch floor. Finds included several

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

s, a small whale vertebra cup, a

spindle whorl A spindle whorl is a disc or spherical object fitted onto the spindle to increase and maintain the speed of the spin. Historically, whorls have been made of materials like amber, antler, bone, ceramic, coral, glass, stone, metal (iron, lead, lead ...

, a stone gaming piece, a whetstone,

hammerstone In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wo ...

s, some stone knives and choppers, an iron rod, and some querns.

References

External links

{{Prehistoric Orkney Borwick Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Orkney Prehistoric Orkney Mainland, Orkney