Edinburgh, United Kingdom
12th century
Glasgow, United Kingdom
1136
St Andrews, United Kingdom
1158
St Davids, United Kingdom
1131-1181
Belfast, United Kingdom
1899
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
1874
Kirkwall, United Kingdom
1137
Glasgow, United Kingdom
1814
Elgin, United Kingdom
1224
Cardiff, United Kingdom
12th century
Peel, United Kingdom
11th century
Armagh, United Kingdom
13th century
Londonderry, United Kingdom
1633
Gibraltar, United Kingdom
1810
Dunblane, United Kingdom
11th century
Inverness, United Kingdom
1866-1869
Dornoch, United Kingdom
13th century
Enniskillen, United Kingdom
1842
Bangor, United Kingdom
12th century
Brecon, United Kingdom
13th century
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.