Ousdale Broch is an Iron Age broch located near the small settlement of Ousdale. It has an external diameter of around 16 metres. The main entrance is on the southwest and is 4.3 metres long with nearly all the roofing lintels still in position. The entrance passage is 1.78 metres high and 75 centimetres wide. The entrance passage contains two sets of door-checks, and there is also a guard-cell. The interior of the broch has a diameter of around 7 metres, and there is a doorway to the intra-mural stairway.
The site was excavated in 1891 by James Mackay, and the interior was thoroughly cleared out. Layers of ashes and charcoal were found on the floor, with many broken animal bones. There were also large quantities of common periwinkle and limpet shells, and many wild hazel nuts. A series of stone tanks were set into the floor. Finds included a metalworking crucible. Stone artifacts included a damaged 'hatchet', a granite mortar, several querns, stone discs, and several whetstones. There were large quantities of pottery. A segment of a jet bracelet was also found, and a fragment of a wooden dish or scoop.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.