Torwoodlee
The Broch and Hillfort of Torwoodlee are three kilometers west of Galashiels in the Border Region of Scotland on a 300 m high spur (Harrigalt Head) in a loop of Gala Water , which is accessible from the A72 (road). It is one of only three brochures (next to Bow Castle and Edin's Hall ) in the border region.
The multi-period monument, examined in 1891 and excavated in 1950, shows evidence of deliberate destruction. The walls of the slightly oval hill fort of around 110 × 130 m are hardly recognizable. The excavation of the Broch showed that it was partly built over the backfilled trenches of the Hillfort and later demolished as planned. The Broch Wall survived to a height of less than a meter, but interesting details remained visible. The passage shows the rest of a guard cell and a ledge against which a wooden door has been bolted. The interior inside the 5.2 m thick wall has a diameter of about 12 m. A common access leads to an intramural cell on the right and to the beginning of the stairs inside the wall on the left.
Roman artifacts (glass and pottery) from the late 1st century, under the broch, indicate that it was built around AD 100 or later. The Roman material could be booty from the raid on Trimontium Castel in Newstead .
The Broch was, which is relatively rare, but was also observed on the much older Broch of Crosskirk , by a wall and a 2.7 m wide and 1.6 m deep ditch. The excavation showed that it had been filled in with the rubble from the demolition of the Broch. That happened immediately after the trench was dug. It is risky to combine archaeological findings with historical events. In this case it seems at least possible to link the fate of the Broch with the advance of the Romans on the border on Antonine Wall (142–144 AD), especially since the extension of Dere Street to Edinburgh passed nearby. The Leckie Broch north of the new wall was also destroyed at this time.
literature
- Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. To Oxford Archaeological Guide . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-288002-0 , ( Oxford archaeological guides ).
- Stuart Pigott : Excavation Of The Broch And Hill-Fort Torwoodlee Selkirkshire 1953
Web links
Coordinates: 55 ° 38 '11.7 " N , 2 ° 51' 3.8" W.