Midhowe Broch () 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 mostl ...

broch located on the west coast of the island of

Rousay Rousay (, sco, Rousee; non, Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversit ...

in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland.

Description

Midhowe Broch () is situated on a narrow promontory between two steep-sided creeks, on the north side of

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 ...

. The broch is part of an ancient settlement, part of which has been lost to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...

. The broch got its name from the fact that it's the middle of three similar structures that lie grouped within 500 metres of each other and Howe from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

word ''haugr'' meaning mound or barrow.Orkney Placenames
accessed 14 February 2014 The broch tower has an internal diameter of 9 metres within a wall 4.5 metres thick, which still stands to a height of over 4 metres. The broch interior is crowded with stone partitions, and there is a spring-fed water tank in the floor and a hearth with sockets which may have held a roasting spit. The broch is surrounded by the remains of other lesser buildings, and a narrow entrance provides access into the defended settlement. The other buildings seem to have been built as adjacent houses, but later in the site's history they were used as workshops, and one of these buildings still retains its iron-smelting hearth. A short distance to the southeast is a large Neolithic chambered cairn known as Midhowe Chambered Cairn.

Excavations

The broch and attendant buildings were excavated between 1930 and 1933 and then taken under guardianship. The excavations recovered stone and bone tools associated with grain processing, spinning and weaving. Also found were pieces from crucibles and moulds associated with bronzeworking. Also discovered was a fragment from a Roman bronze vessel. Many of the artefacts are now on display at the Broch of Gurness.

References

External links

Midhowe Broch
Historic Scotland {{Prehistoric Orkney Brochs in Orkney Historic Scotland properties in Orkney Scheduled monuments in Scotland Prehistoric Orkney Rousay