Snabrough broch is a ruined
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 the island of
Unst in
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
, Scotland. It overlooks Snabrough Loch.
Location
Snabrough Broch overlooks Snabrough Loch, south of
Burragarth on
Unst. It is about east of
Bluemull Sound
Bluemull Sound is the strait between Unst and Yell in Shetland's North Isles. A ferry service crosses it regularly. Cullivoe is on the Yell side, and the island of Linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), somet ...
. It stands on a short, low promontory on the loch shore, and is surrounded to the north by rolling cultivable land.
Description
Snabrough Broch has an external diameter of around 18 metres.
Little of its structure can be seen, but traces of the inner and outer faces of the broch wall are on the southeast side.
The entrance is on the northwest side, but is filled with debris.
The broch was visited by the antiquarian George Low in the 18th century, who noted "large hollow apartments ... following the curve of the wall"; these are no longer visible.
On the landward side of the broch there was an outer wall or rampart with a ditch, which curved across the broad neck of the promontory.
Between the outer wall and the broch there may have been some out-buildings.
References
External links
Brochs in Shetland
Unst
Scheduled monuments in Scotland
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