Explore the historic highlights of Genoa
Genoa, Italy
13th century
Genoa, Italy
1118
Genoa, Italy
2000
Genoa, Italy
c. 1150
Genoa, Italy
1155
Genoa, Italy
10th century AD
Genoa, Italy
11th century
Genoa, Italy
1618
Genoa, Italy
1189
Genoa, Italy
1520
Genoa, Italy
1551
Genoa, Italy
10th century AD
Genoa, Italy
9th century AD
Genoa, Italy
1886
Genoa, Italy
1543
Genoa, Italy
1840
Genoa, Italy
1758
Genoa, Italy
1610-1624
Genoa, Italy
1893
Genoa, Italy
1818-1831
Genoa, Italy
12th century
Genoa, Italy
1747
Genoa, Italy
1818-1830
Genoa, Italy
1815-1830
Genoa, Italy
1831-1842
Genoa, Italy
1747-1800
Genoa, Italy
1747-1809
Genoa, Italy
1818-1836
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.