Skitten Broch was an Iron Age

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 between the villages of Killimster and North Killimster in

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

, Scotland ().

Location

The

RAF Skitten Royal Air Force Skitten or more simply RAF Skitten is a former Royal Air Force satellite station directly east of the village of Killimster, located north east of Watten, Caithness, Scotland and northwest of Wick, Caithness, Scotland. On 19 No ...

base was built on the remains of Skitten Broch.

Description

Skitten broch was destroyed in the 1940s during the building of the nearby Killimster aerodrome, from which Operation Freshman departed.

History

Sir Francis Tress Barry partially excavated Skitten broch in 1904. Ahead of its destruction in 1940, a second excavation was carried out by

Charles S. T. Calder Charles S. T. Calder (March 1891 – December 1972) was a Scottish archaeologist who undertook extensive explorations from the 1920s to 1950s. He is best known for his explorations of Neolithic cairns and buildings in Shetland in the 1940s and 19 ...

in 1940.

References

{{Broch Brochs Scheduled monuments in Scotland Archaeological sites in Caithness