Broch from Tappoch
The Tappoch Broch (also called The Tappoch or Torwood Broch) is tucked away in a thick forest (Tor Wood) about two miles northeast of the town of Denny , west of Falkirk , Scotland .
The Broch is located near the top of a 116 m high hill. In 1864 Colonel Dundas of Carronhall organized his excavation. In the place initially held for a burial place, he found one of the best preserved Lowland Brochs.
description
After a long walk through the hill and the entrance passage, you come to the Broch's chamber, whose six-meter-thick walls were two to three meters high. More recently, entire pieces of wall have collapsed. The dry stone masonry is built from large, irregular stone blocks from the immediate vicinity. The oval chamber was paved and has a large fireplace in the middle. The chamber measures 10.8 by 9.8 m. The access of which some of the falls are still in situare located in the southeast. About halfway in the entrance is a stop for a door with a bolt hole for the door beam. In the southwest of the chamber, a short corridor branches off to the right and leads to an unusually well-preserved staircase in the wall. In 1864 there were still eleven steps, some were later lost. The side walls of the staircase incline inwards, which indicates that it was originally designed as a cantilever vault . A small chamber in the northeast of the wall appears to be of modern origin.
- Broch from Tappoch
The finds consist of grinding stones and hand turning mills , two hollowed out stones, a stone cup (coarser than the one found at Airth), stone balls and spindle whorls . A late Roman ceramic shard is said to have been found in the 1950s. It is believed that Brochs had multiple floors and was intended for elites. The stone balls reflect the status of the owner. They are reminiscent of a tradition of such symbols of power, as are three nearby rock outcrops with cup-and-ring markings from the Bronze Age .
Two earth walls surround the broch, except to the west, where there is a steep precipice. They are the only remaining parts of a kind of outer bailey, which sometimes accompanies larger brochures and contains buildings of a small settlement. A nearby Roman road and the Broch are classified as Scheduled Monuments .
literature
- Graham Ritchie : Brochs of Scotland. Princes Risborough, Shire Archeology 1988, ISBN 0747803897 .
- Ian Armit: Towers in the North: The Brochs of Scotland. Tempus, Stroud 2003, ISBN 9780752419329 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brochs are round, windowless towers that can be found in Scotland , especially in Caithness , but also on the offshore islands ( Hebrides , Orkney , and Shetlands ). In total, the remains of around 500 brochs were found.
Web links
- Description Engl. and sketches
- Description Engl. and pictures
- Video
- Entry on Tappoch's Broch in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
Coordinates: 56 ° 2 ′ 36.7 " N , 3 ° 52 ′ 27.6" W.