Broch (tower)

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The (excavated) inside of an intact brochure - here Mousa

A brochure is a round, windowless, Iron Age tower that can be found in Scotland , especially in Caithness , but also on the offshore islands ( Orkney , Shetland and Hebrides ). Brochs are rare in the southern part of the country. However, there are the so-called Lowland Brochs ( Broch from Castle Craig , Doon Castle , Edin's Hall , Broch from Tappoch ). In total, the remains of around 500 brochs have been found so far. They are also wrongly called Pict’s houses orPictish castles called. The Scottish archaeologist and author Anna Ritchie considers them to be the final expression of the development of the round houses in Scotland.

Origin, distribution, development

Distribution map
Broch of Burrian

In the British Isles , round buildings are documented from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Most were built of wood and fell into disrepair. Lumber was rare in northern Scotland and the islands, while stone, often in a usable shape and size, was readily available.

Before the brochure development reached its peak, there were roundhouses in Scotland . As things stand, the oldest are the round houses of Quanterness and the Calf of Eday (both on Orkney - named after Calder The Potter's Workshop ). Their beginnings go back to 700 BC. Chr.

Orkney (over 50 copies), Skye and the small island of Tiree are discussed as starting points for the “classic construction” brochure with double-walled masonry . According to the current state of knowledge, the earliest construction start , confirmed by C 14 dating , is around 400 BC. BC ( Scatnes Broch , on Shetland ). The longest uninterrupted period of use , also secured by C 14 dating, extends into the late 8th, possibly even 9th century AD ( Howe and Stromness on Orkney). However, the majority of the buildings were built between 200 BC. And 200 AD

In the Broch von Bu (also Bu or Bu Broch ) discussed as the "older" Broch , which dates back to 600 BC. BC, it is possibly a representative of the “un- or pre-classical” construction method, ie a tower without double walls in the rising storeys, which typologically falls into the group of simple roundhouses , comparable to Quanterness and Calf of Eday . However, there is no knowledge of any kind about rising structures; Signs of collapse such as at Howe were not found during the emergency excavation.

distribution

In western Scotland, the Brochs' proper names are often combined with the designation " Dun ", while the term " Knowe " (dt. Small hill) is relatively common on Orkney . All Brochs on the smaller Orkney Islands and 26 of the 31 Brochs on Mainland are by the sea (53 in total). The reason for this is probably that the cliff outcrops provided the building material.

Orkney

John W. Hedges identified 52 brochures on Orkney and analyzed 80. Only a few have double-walled walls. The entrances have door locks and guard cells. At least ten Orkneybrochs have their own water supply ( wells in the Broch von Breckness ). A unique feature of Orkney is the appearance of countless outbuildings in a number of locations. The Lingro Broch, on the outskirts of Kirkwall, was excavated by George Petrie in the 1870s. The associated "Brochdorf", the largest on Orkney, was completely demolished.

Construction

The architecture of the Brochs is complex. Windowless towers made of dry stone , with a diameter of 10 to 15 m and a height of up to 15 m are typical . There are also occasional brochs with other proportions, such as the Gurness Broch with 20 m and, as the largest known, Edin's Hall with an outer diameter of around 30 m. From the strength of the still preserved walls, one can conclude that they were up to 15 m high. The peculiarity of many Brochs (apart from those of the Orkney) is the double-walled wall, which contains galleries, niches and stairs. At ground level there is a narrow, tunnel-like entrance, sometimes two or three. Often you will find one or two guard cells in this main entrance . The ground floor often contains several radially arranged, T-shaped intramural niches (galleries). Some brochures in Sutherland are barely structured. No false ceilings or platforms have survived , but from the existing beam supports, wall heels and the staircase approaches ( Broch from Tirefour , Dun Bharabhat on Bernera), it is concluded that some Brochs had a multi-storey interior construction. In reconstruction drawings, brochs are shown with conical wooden roofs; However, roof structures of whatever type are not documented.

When choosing the building site, strategic locations such as hills, peninsulas or islands ( Broch in the West Burra Firth ) were often preferred. Brochs were also built on rivers and lakes ( Grummore Broch ) or on islands in inland lakes ( Dun Bragar ), which are connected to the land by a dam. In addition, they were often surrounded by walls and ditches. Some Brochs were built on the ruins of older buildings ( Broch of Borwick ). Brochs can also be found in locations where military considerations were of no importance. Sometimes Brochs are close by (Tulach an Fhuarain, Tulach Buaile A 'Chroic and Tulach Lochain Bhraseil) at Westerdale in Caithness .

Current excavations have shown that at least some of these systems had their own fresh water supply (Keiss Whitegate in Caithness), sewer pipes and basements (Applecross Broch in Wester Ross).

  • Brochs

  • Broch Dun Carloway ( Isle of Lewis )

  • Basic plan of a brochure. Dun Alascaig is one of the absolutely axially symmetrical brochs

  • Cross section of a brochure with the galleries in the wall

  • Mousa Broch

  • Outer Wall (Dun Telve)

  • Entrance and wall remnants (Dun Telve)

  • Entrance (Dun Telve)

  • Dun Telve display board

  • Double walled wall (Dun Telve)

  • Stairway (Dun Troddan)

  • Loch Ardbhair - One of the rare island brochures in Sutherland

  • Dun Torcuill - Inselbroch on North Uist

Guard cell

Dun Carloway with access to the guard cell

The guard cell is an intramural cell found only in the mainland brochs. It is built into Sardinian nuraghi in a similar form . As a rule, the cell is only accessible from the passage. The passages of the Brochs have lengths between 3.5 and 5.5 m and are narrow and low. The tunnel-like access leads into the interior.

Guard cells ( English guard-cells ) got their name because early archaeologists regarded the cells in the corridor for the space of a doorman. They have different sizes, shapes and positions. Most of them are on the right in the aisle ( Dun Telve ), but there are also on the left ( Dun Troddan ). They are often missing on the northern islands (e.g. Broch von Bu or many of the 110 Brochs of the Shetland Islands such as Broch von Mousa ) but not the Broch at Loch of Houlland . Many corridors are narrow on the outside and widen towards the inner end symmetrically, stepped by a few decimeters. This side step is regarded as the stop for a locking device (door). Access to the guard cell is always on the inside, i.e. behind the (closed) door. Although Brochs are from the Iron Age , no iron fittings, which are otherwise typical for doors, could be found. Dùn Mòr has a round guard cell and a long bar or bolt hole , also found at Borroughston on Shapinsay , for the no longer existing locking device. In Mousa's brochure there is a narrow slit cell in the corridor, just wide and deep enough to allow a locking device to be inserted.

The small guard cell in the Broch of Crosskirk , the oldest broch investigated to date, was accessible both from the corridor and from a larger cell in the wall. It also has a series of steps that are part of a staircase. This multifunctional cell combines all three classic Broch elements that otherwise appear separately.

Function and use

Due to the well-fortified appearance of the Brochs, they used to be interpreted as refuges or the seat of a Celtic leader. Research now assumes that these are residences of the landowning population. However, the situation on the islands of South Juist and Lewis is somewhat different. There are few, but larger brochures here, which certainly could not have served as a residence for the entire population. It is assumed that Brochs were erected as monumental buildings by wealthy or socially superior families for reasons of prestige. While some brochures were already given up in the second century, subsequent use by Picts cannot be ruled out. At least short-term use by the following Vikings has been documented with certainty for one brochure: Mousayjar Borg, Mousa Broch, Shetland.

Some Brochs ( Broch von Midhowe , Gurness, Jarlshof , Clickhimin and others) were surrounded by other residential buildings, some of which were built very quickly, if not at the same time, and some of which are much more recent. In The Brochs of Shetland: recent controversies and new ideas , Brian Smith presents new insights into the Brochs. The Broch in Canisbay, Caithness, under the ruins of a 13th century church, gives a non-profane clue.

Examples

Broch of Gurness - View over the Eyhallow Sound, in the foreground (today covered with grass) remains of the double wall, to the right of the actual Broch and partly in front of it: remains of the surrounding subsequent development; State 1988

The Gurness Broch near Evie was created between 200 and 100 BC. BC, probably on the remains of an older settlement. In 1930 a chamber was discovered here, carved into the rock, then lined, to which a stone staircase led down and in which spring water collected. In the meantime, there are more than 30 comparable systems across Scotland, which obviously secured the water supply.

There is also a brochure in Jarlshof in the middle of what is in some cases a much older settlement. Around the Broch there are Bronze Age houses, including one that was apparently used by an Irish bronze smith, wheelhouses, Norman longhouses and a medieval farm consisting of two parallel long buildings. The entire complex was last significantly changed in 1605 when Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, expanded the manor house laid out by his father Robert, with the Broch being partially built over. This mansion, the actual Jarlshof , so named by Sir Walter Scott , was again in ruins from around 1675.

The best preserved is the Mousa Broch on the small island of Mousa , east of Mainland . Originally it was about 15 m high with a diameter of 15.2 m. With the stone rings protruding in two levels on the inside of the building, Mousa is also an example of very probable wooden interior fittings ("galleries"), whose supporting beams for floor / roof elements rest on these corbels. At the same time, the spiral staircase leading upwards between the two shells of the brochure walls made in dry stone construction can be traced in the load-bearing inner wall, but not in the outer wall, which has a stronger cross-section.

Other relatively well-preserved specimens are Dun Telve and Dun Troddan in the Highlands , and the Broch Dun Carloway on the Isle of Lewis .

Modern brochures

The architect Stuart Bagshaw, who works on the Hebridean island of Lewis, has designed houses in recent years that are based on the Iron Age rotunda. The Brochs of Coigach mimic dilapidated, grass-covered brochs. On the Hebridean island of Harris he is building a 14 meter high brochure.

literature

  • Ian Armit: Towers in the North: The Brochs of Scotland. Tempus, Stroud 2003, ISBN 9780752419329 .
  • Ian Armit: Broch Building in Northern Scotland: The Context of Innovation. World Archeology 21/3 (Architectural Innovation) 1990, pp. 435-445.
  • John W. Hedges: Bu, Gurness and the Brochs of Orkney. (3 volumes) BAR, Oxford 1987, BAR British series 165.
  • Lloyd Laing, Jennifer Laing: The Picts and the Scots. Sutton Publishing Ltd., 1994.
  • Euan W. Mackie: The roundhouses, brochs and wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c. 700 BC - AD 500: architecture and material culture. Part 1: the Orkney and Shetland Isles. BAR, Oxford: 2002, (Brit Ser 342).
  • JNG Ritchie: Brochs of Scotland. Princes Risborough, Shire Archeology secund edition 1998, ISBN 0-7478-0389-7 .
  • Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 . Pp. 201-214.

swell

  1. ↑ in Prehistoric Orkney 1995, p. 99
  2. ↑ http://www.brochs.co.uk/viewpage.php?page_id=2

Web links

Commons : Brochs  - collection of images, videos and audio files