A circular, fortified structure unique to Iron Age Scotland.
A style of fortification used by the Kral. A simple solid tower with few windows and basic ramparts upon the roof.
Drystone freestanding tower with interior court, no external windows (which face into the court), spiral stair inside wall, typically iron age Celtic refuge in Scotland.
An Iron Age round tower built of dry stonework as a citadel against raiders. Found especially in the Orkneys and Shetlands.
a fortified tower, in which the local populace could seek refuge whenever raiders (usually Norsemen) came by
a type of defensive dwelling unique to the Iron Age farmers of Scotland
a type of round, stone-walled farmhouse covered with turf to make a smooth hill which is to be found in the ancient Pictish areas of Scotland
A special type of defended homestead found almost exclusively in the northern reaches of Scotland, including the Western and Northern Isles. Dry stone walls, into which chambers and staircases are built, enclose a circular living space. The towers would have extended to between 20 and 50 feet in height. They were built for only a short period of time in the late Iron Age. A special type of dun.
Round tower-like drystone structure, confined mainly to the North and West of Scotland, and dating to the Iron Age
a halo round sun or moon. So also in Scots. Probably a metaphorical use of Old Norse borg, a place of defence, the Orkney broch ; c.f. however Gaelic broth, lunar halo.
A circular drystone tower, used as a fortified dwelling in the pre-Christian period.
an Iron-Age fortified farmhouse
cylindrical drystone tower-fort built with a hollow, galleried wall. Unique to Scotland.
A large stone tower built in Scotland between 100BC and 100AD (iron age) without mortar and a small, crawl-in entrance. The upper photo is of Mousa Broch on the Island of Mousa in the Shetland Isles - the finest Broch surviving, 40 ft high (© and courtesy Historic Scotland). The lower photo is of Clickimin Broch also in the Shetlands.
The Broch is an Iron Age dry stone structure of a type which is only found in Scotland. The brochs of Scotland include some of the most sophisticated examples of dry stone architecture ever created. Broch's belong to the archaeological classification of complex Atlantic Roundhouse.