Why Scotland's 2,000-year-old 'skyscrapers' puzzle archaeologists - BBC REEL

Standing amid the stunning Scottish wilderness for the past 2,000 years, these mysterious stone structures are a symbol of Scotland’s unique archaeological past.
Known as a broch, the exact purpose of these iconic Iron Age ruins is still unknown, however a group of experimental archaeologists believe that an ambitious project to build a full-scale broch from scratch could finally help us to better understand their past.
Video by Chris Griffiths
Narration by Katrina Bell
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[@BIGJATPSU]

I think they're on the right track with seeing them as an Iron Age "communal living space" for an attached or adjacent set of buildings like Broch Gurness. I'm sure ones in more fortifiable positions were viewed more for security but functioned the same in peaceful times with buildings being farther away as some sites have shown. Hope the MP's manage to help secure funds for the build, would be fascinating to visit when it's all done!

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

First time I see a broch, but to me it seemed like they were made partly to be vantage points and landmarks for fishermen/sailors. Especially as they all seemed to be placed at a high point very close to the sea. Seemed weird that the model looked to be without a means to get up on the roof where one could spot dangers/returning boats or hold/mount a torch as an early form of lighthouse.

[@kateapple1]

Seems like a lighthouse to me especially given where it’s located in each location!

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

@@MalawisLilleKanal Not all brochs are near the see, nor are they high - but that's not to say that some of the structures were used as signalling points. Most archaeologists would argue that they were roofed and used as dwellings, however - given the finds (as Stephen Jennings argues) in the brochs.

[@calistaBLOOM]

Yes! I don't think brochs had a single purpose. I think they were used as a fortified communal space for gathering, protection from the elements, storing goods, as well as protection from wildlife and enemy tribes. I'm excited to see this experimental build take shape!

[@madelaineseguin1490]

Lego Broch. That is awesome.

[@curiousworld7912]

I really like the idea of relearning ancient stone masonry. These old skills, lost for so long, may prove to be important and useful in the future. And, just knowing or having some idea of 'why', 'how', and 'who' built these things, would be fascinating.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Absolutely! Experimental archaeology is one of the best ways to learn about the past - so we hope we can gain much more from this project. Please do give us a follow if you'd like to know more.

[@axomiyasowalibristi1120]

Pleas

[@mEgA-MeMe]

@@CaithnessBrochProject got my attention where do I sign up to build this thing

[@faithlesshound5621]

There must be plenty of people around the world who know how to build dry stone walls, but they probably don't earn enough to be allowed to visit the UK.

[@Peak_Stone]

The skills arent lost, they've just become redundant due to the mastery of other materials. If anything, we could rebuild anything from the ancient world with stone, to far higher level than they ever could, because we have access to stone carving machinery and software now, it's just that it wouldn't make any sense to do it.

[@teo7no]

near my hometown in Romania, there is Piroboridava, a 2000-1800 year-old location where a small fortification existed (destroyed by the communist regime). The location of this Dava is quite similar to those in Scotland, on a high hill overlooking a valley and a body of water. The supposed purpose of this Dava (meaning small village/fortress) was to keep a look out for enemy Roman troops. So maybe these had a similar purpose. People usually think that 2000 years ago people lived in caved and hunted dinosaurs, but people back there were pretty advanced. Like think that the first city was built almost 10 000 years ago or so

[@Patricius1001]

Точно такой небоскрёб находится и в Алжире!

[@nicolalang5603]

We visited the Glenelg brochs when we were in the area - they're fascinating! It feels completely off the beaten track, even though the little ferry runs from nearby to Skye. Highly recommended.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

The Glenelg Brochs are MAGIC! They really give you a sense of how big these structures were. Did you pop into the Glenelg Inn, too? I worked there, very briefly!

[@johnkidd797]

As a Highlander I've always understood a Broch to be a fortified house. One of my Rotties was called Broch, he was Rocky when we adopted him but we changed it and he took to the name just fine.

[@stevezodiac491]

After seeing one, i think you are right. At clachtol broch, all they found was a grain quern stone, some farming implements and lanterns. Sounds like a farm house to me. By the way, you are very lucky living up there. I love the West Highland coast in particular.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Yes, that seems like a fairly accurate descriptor.

[@sunsettersix6993]

Brochs have always excited my imagination. I'm just fascinated by these structures! Live in a broch during the Iron Age? YES PLEASE!

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Maybe we'll have an Air Broch n Broch for you to stay in?

[@sunsettersix6993]

@@CaithnessBrochProject 🤩🤩🤩

[@matthewreedy4731]

I would absolutely love to see it built and would appreciate more information on dry stone building

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thanks! Check out www.thebrochproject.co.uk for more details or ways to support us :)

[@janerkenbrack3373]

This is the first I've heard of these structures. I am excited to learn more. Especially in learning what they were used for. When I think about prehistoric structures I begin with the climate where they lived. When I saw the first pictures of Brochs in this video I thought how those thick walls would help retain the heat of the Earth. But when I saw how tall they were I realized that is likely the reason they are so thick. I would think dry stacking stone to that hight would need such a thick base to support that much stone above it. Too narrow and the thing could easily topple over from shifting stone. And a thought that just came to me, I wonder if they lit fires in the center of the structure as was done in other early accommodations. The rising smoke caught up at the top under a roof might work well for smoking meats and fish. You could have security from the weather and climate, as well as storage and food preparation in one building.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Absolutely Jan - very feasible and practical hypotheses! The climate, by the way, of the Iron Age, had started to subside, so it was somewhat colder and wetter than the Bronze Age. So no doubt heat, warmth, comfort and moreover protection would have been at the forefront of the Iron Age builder's mind!

[@peterlamont1533]

The Caithness broch project sounds great and I hope it achieves success. The defensive nature of brochs, forts and duns is supported by evidence for precise and sophisticated signalling arrangements. See "Messages from the past: Iron Age signalling in Argyll". This early warning of anyone hostile approaching would have given time for the inhabitants of the surrounding area to retreat into the structure and defend themselves. First attempts did not always work and that can often be seen by a second, nearby structure with better signalling arrangements. When the signalling requirements are examined for Dun Troddan and Dun Telve near Glenelg the logical conclusion is that Dun Troddan was constructed first, and, after its (presumed) destruction, a new site was chosen for its successor - Dun Telve - which is in a position to receive information from a better placed lookout on Skye.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thank you Peter - I'll give your essay a read!

[@ClannCholmain]

It would definitely be the reason for my first visit to Scotland. Greetings from the west of Ireland 🇮🇪

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Well, we'll keep working on it. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or our website (www.thebrochproject.co.uk) if you'd like to know more!

[@ClannCholmain]

@@CaithnessBrochProject we all need something to look forward to, regards.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

@@ClannCholmain Amen!

[@biancabaroli4720]

Thank you for this video. These structures remind me the ones in Sardinia (Italy) known as "nuraghe".

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Yes - I'm actually hoping to visit some of these later in the year, they look spectacular!

[@stevezodiac491]

I have visited clachtol broch near Loch Inver. Really interesting building in a location to die for. Must have had a tough but happy life there 2000 years ago.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

I think a life in a broch would be just swell. Certainly compared to other Iron Age dwellings! But a lot of work, and upkeep, required to keep it looking at its best.

[@theshow1153]

I really want to visit Scotland someday.

[@apislapis]

I've been to Dun Carloway / Dùn Chàrlabhaigh and very impressive it was too. They look like an Iron Age cooling tower to me. Looking forward to watching news of the broch reconstruction.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thanks - please do give us a follow on social media, in that case, or join as a Friend on our webite - www.thebrochproject.co.uk

[@MrAshCarr]

Looks like a form of castle to me, probably a large family with some farms around it I would think. The coastal ones would've been attractive to wreckers I bet if that was a thing at that point, or maybe a kind of lighthouse. But yeah fortified living space that offers a good view of the surrounding countryside, if you've got the rocks and the hands there's really no good reason not to build one.

[@oLevLovesLove]

Finding agricultural tools inside the broch only indicates the last user. If it was abandoned by a garrison the precious weapons would be taken, then the rest cleaned out by looters. The positions at prominent heights and cliffs indicate a defensive purpose to guard and also to intimidate invaders. The thick walls reduce useful interior space if it was a storage, living or utility building but allow for a tall stable structure with wide battlements for defenders to fight from.

[@hensonlaura]

Exactly right. Comment threads like this, there's a lot of speculation, posing as knowledge and theories spoken as fact. Not great for the spread of real knowledge. Imo, many people today are so far removed from the natural world that they can't begin to extrapolate the real challenges of iron age life. I've lived a lot of my life outdoors, and a lot of it with meager resources. Enough to know, as beautiful, romantic and interesting as these brochs are, I never want to have to run to one in fear of my life, praying my family were all close enough to make it - or far enough away to hide.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

The thing is so many brochs have a wide number of varying objects, tools and features. Not every broch is the same - but certainly quern stones and artefacts relating to agriculture are a common feature among many brochs. Brochs are multi-faceted, and reflect different communities and Iron Age society - but not all / every community.

[@wabisabi6875]

Fantastic! I look forward to watching the progress.

[@Linz0440]

Love this, but not all brochs are in the north. If you are in the central belt you can easily visit the Tappoch Broch at Torwood near Falkirk.

[@eglwysfawr4076]

That was awsome to watch.

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

If they were built along the coastline perhaps a watch tower or perhaps an old lighthouse? Also I am reminded of that scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when the beacons were lit to call Rohan to ride to Gondor's aid in war - what a great film sequence! Could they be beacons, possibly to warn against Viking invasion from the sea? Are they anyway related to the round towers in Ireland?

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

They're not just found along the coastline - many inland as well. They ARE, however, close to sources of clean running water, generally, though!

[@blumenthal7528]

These brochs were way back before Viking

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

@@blumenthal7528 Curiouser & curiouser... Perhaps the vikings got their round tower ideas from the brochs... Picts? Scotland & England had many waves of invaders / immigrants from the continent & Scandanavia. Anything similar there? Much cultural & tech interactions flowed all along the various "roads" - spice, perfume, silk etc. Anything similar in the east or perhaps from the south? India, china, perhaps even russia? North Africa. It's really frustrating when ancient cultures don't write things down!

[@hensonlaura]

There is SPECULATION that brochs signaled to each other in danger, and probably for all kinds of reasons; seems common sense. Also, even though they're 2,000 years old and long predate the Viking age of expansion, people were still mobile on the oceans at this time. Certainly, trade, slavery and pillage were all possible coming from the sea in temperate seasons. Winter would be safer in that regard.

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

@@hensonlaura I'm coming across all sorts of ancient tech from water collection towers, cooling devices etc. Were all visitors to ancient Scotland etc from Scandanavia? Could seafarers from the Meditterranean area, perhaps even China or India etc, make it to that far north?

[@zsong9600]

I would like to go and visit one and just sit and imagine what went on in the past how life functioned around and in one and just feel the history.

[@grovermartin6874]

In addition to being astounded by their solidity and size, the agrarian part of me considers what an admirable use for all those soil-clogging stones. I can imagine an ancient denizen of that stormy and ungiving weather shaking his fist at the sky gods as he surveys his blown-down thatch house, roaring, "Oh, no you don't! We'll build a shelter you can't destroy!"

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

I have visions of a Big Bad Wolf trying to blow down our broch!

[@patrickwentz8413]

Lego Broch set?! Yes Please!

[@loquat44-40]

The traditional point of view is that Brochs were originally defensive structures and I can see later that they were used primarily for domestic purposes. Even castles were lived in, but were primarily meant to be strong points.

[@ChristophersMum]

I'm looking forward to seeing the project through to completion...I first became aware of brochs in my childhood from visiting Dun Carloway /Dun Charlabhaigh on my homeland of the Isle of Lewis...they were mysterious places built by long gone peoples...who had just the same issues as do we...

[@hensonlaura]

I envy you your proxemity; I would love to visit some of these & imagine their lives.

[@KeepCalmandLoveClassics]

Breathtaking Beauty of Scotland 🍁

[@fivizzano]

pretty similar to SARDINIAN NURAGHI … date seems about 2000 years older on the .Nuraghi side, perhaps even older.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

They are, huh! Lots of circular towers can be found all over the world - it's a very practical style of building. Would love to visit these towers, one day!

[@userMB1]

Great video! These kind of buildings are very important for the people living there. Knowing your ancesters did something outstanding really makes you proud of your identity and heritage on a very deep level.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

What this guy said! Thanks, we really think that understanding archaeology and heritage is good for your well-being. We've got loads of amazing archaeological sites in Caithness- come visit!

[@jonathansturm4163]

When you think of what the Butser experiment has taught us, it’s hard to think of a more worthwhile project! Measurement of real-world thermodynamic performance I’m sure will reveal much of interest.

[@jasonlb456]

A few years back my wife and I were in Scotland and didn't want to drive while there. This mean we had to use bus tours to see certain things. One of the tours was from Inverness to Orkney via John o groats . On the way up and back the buss driver was great at pointing out all the sights we drove past . However, I knew ahead of time about the broch of cairn liath and had marked it on my Google maps. I was already sad that all i was going to get was a view out the window as we drove past but I was extra disappointed when the driver failed to point it out both times. Luckily like i said i had it marked and therefore saw it but I was the only one. Such a shame .

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Shocking - Carn Liath is one of our favourite brochs. So beautiful!

[@jasonlb456]

@@CaithnessBrochProject it was nice to see on the drive by , just to quick

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

@@jasonlb456 you'll have to come back to the North some day!

[@kawaiilotus]

You should have asked if they could have stopped for a minute so you could have taken a phone, I sure if you asked nicely enough they would oblige!

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Bus tours are for dull senior citizens mate.

[@ThatSpiffingChap]

There's still quite a lot of dry stone wall making going on in Norway today using very similar if not the same stone and methods. I did a course in it a while ago and the instructor said he has been to places in the British Isles and seen the structures and remarked on the similarity. I can't remember though if he had helped work with local efforts to make dry stone walls in the modern day though. But either way it would be good to have some international cooperation there to get to the root of this shared heritage.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

We welcome visitors and volunteers from across the world - shared expertise is most appreciated!

[@Patricius1001]

Точно такой небоскрёб находится и в Алжире!

[@joshhoffman1975]

What a great idea, I have always wondered what they are, and I would love to visit the recreation

[@chantelmcskimming6633]

Delightful! Thank you for very good Info!!

[@trickyricky2903]

Fantastic, can't wait to visit.

[@xmaniac99]

Looks like a Nuraghi, there is tenthousands of them all over Sardinia and similar structures in Spain and Portugal.

[@pansepot1490]

Yup. Strange that they didn’t mention that. Similar structures may have had similar uses. Although I understand even for the nuraghe archeologists are still debating about what their function was.

[@hensonlaura]

Going to look those up, thanks for mentioning! They must date roughly from the same time period; good ideas have a way of getting around. Edit: the older nuragh are 4,000 years old, they said these were half that!

[@alisdairmclean8605]

This is fascinating. I would love to see the completed structure.

[@crivensro]

A fantastic video! Good luck with your project! I certainly will stop in Caithness next time I am in Scotland!

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thank you so much - please do check us out on social media or www.thebrochproject.co.uk!

[@boeingpameesha9550]

Thank you for sharing.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thanks for watching!

[@austinblakeman5846]

Couldn’t these have been fortified silos or storehouses? Over the ages, has food not been an extremely valuable and pillage-prone resource in famine? A house could have also been a component of the structure, and perhaps someone living there used their control over the food supply to both feed and subjugate a local population.

[@h-Qalziel]

It's an idea. Although people would most probably have lived in them. Brochs consist of two walls - an outer wall and an inner wall. This leaves a gap between the two which would have housed stairs of some sort to get up to higher parts in the broch. The inner wall would also have had doorways in it leading into the main chamber. There would probably have been hammocks strung above the central ground which the doorways would have led to. The broths could have housed a lot of people. However, they're place as a sort of central building in a village of houses seems a bit peculiar to this idea. Perhaps this is where the leader of the village and their family lived while the others lived around it?

[@austinblakeman5846]

@@h-Qalziel I agree. See my final sentence

[@youthinasia4103]

Wouldn’t they bring the animals in when they were being attacked?

[@hensonlaura]

Doubt they had that much surplus food to store, as in a silo. I think it's more likely a refuge for people their animals, goods and food, in case of attack.

[@hensonlaura]

@@h-Qalziel I don't believe that "stairs inside the wall" is practical with regard to the structure itself.

[@TealCheetah]

Experimental archeology is the best

[@jamescarruthers1967]

I know there's a lot of debate about how they were roofed, and in the absence of knowledge, the archaeological thing is to tend towards a conservative design. However, from a psychological point of view, I can't imagine building something that tall and not wanting to be able to look out from the top...

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

Totally agree. A perfect place to look for enemies, returning boats, schools of fish, whales, weather etc. etc.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

We know - we did mull this over - and from a tourism point of view it makes perfect sense. But we had to look at the archaeological evidence, which would suggest they are primarily dwellings, and, thus, they'd need to have roofs.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Sorry, just to add to that, there was some other restrictions in that we know that for most brochs, the stairwell doesn't wrap around all the way to the top (Mousa being the only one which does - but 'not every broch is a Mousa' as Noel Fojut says). The alternative is having ladder access, but this was deemed to dangerous for the public to enter the top of the broch.

[@jamescarruthers1967]

@@CaithnessBrochProject I was definitely thinking of a roof, but with some sort of door to an open area / gallery that would allow you to see out but still keep the warmth in. It would obviously be complete speculation, but a conservative design would be equally speculative 🤷 Are there any examples of brochs surviving high enough to show a staircase coming to an end? Hadn't heard of that before.

[@tonylittle3508]

Well from what I understand, in those days if there was a group of louts at your front door intent on pillage, you could not just pick up your phone & call the local cops. So having a big round tall house with 5 foot thick walls & no windows, and room for only one person to enter at once, makes a lot of common sense to me. Not rocket science.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Absolutely, but these structures may have been multi-functional, serving not one, but several other purposes. It's sometimes difficult to inhabit the mind of an Iron Age broch inhabitant - but the sturdy walls would certainly make it a difficult structure to assail.

[@historybuff7491]

I can't wait to see it.

[@sirdudleynightshade8747]

Reminds me a little of the Zimbabwe Ruins in Africa.

[@Thomas-pq4ys]

Fascinating. I just completed 3 dry stack retaining walls for terraces i dug qith a neighbor's backhoe. I saved all the stone I dug up, 95% of it being used in my walls. The work is amateurish, since this is the first time I did such work.... each successive wall looks better... It's most enjoyable work, that took my body weeks to get used to. How I'd love to join the crew building the reproduction.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Good on you! You're on your way to becoming a broch builder... 🦾

[@thesunreport]

One thing that has struck me about agricultural dry stone walls is that as well as providing boundaries for land and animals, they also clear the land of the stone, making it workable and better/safer grazing I think. Maybe that is a small part of the story here??

[@pansepot1490]

I read clearing the land of stones was the primary goal. Then the stones were heaped at the boundaries and became walls with additional uses.

[@thesunreport]

@@pansepot1490 Yes it makes sense. I live in a semi-rural area with a lot of limestone. The only real structures we have here (apart from some small/round sheep enclosures, are the lime kilns, where the stone is broken down by heat to release the lime for fertilising crops. There are loads of them here, I think from the 18th century and the beginings of industrialised farming. Thinking about it, it seems the proliferation of limestone has been a real benefit to us in Britain.

[@hensonlaura]

I can only wonder what they might be growing there, and on what scale, 2,000 years ago. Another person commented that at time this land was wooded. Seems an immense amount of work, clearing land, clearing stone, to eke out a living. But that's just my skill-set. Very poor! They might have had excellent crops, hunting, fishing & been very prosperous at trade as well. It just looks so bleak today, it's amazing to me that any of these people ever had anything to pillage. Of course they would have been valuable commodities for trade as slaves, themselves.

[@sarcasmo57]

I wonder what future civilisations will think of all the strange things we have built.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thousands of years after these things have been built, too!

[@pansepot1490]

I think future civilizations will be far more impressed by the number and size of landfills we’ve left behind…

[@hensonlaura]

Somehow, I don't think ours will hold up as well 😕

[@nancywysemen7196]

exciting. thank-you.

[@ebybeehoney]

I would really like to see this.

[@weareallbeingwatched4602]

Stone circles and round houses are multipurpose.

[@billkaroly]

What a great idea. Go for it.

[@darinbauer8122]

The wolves in Scotland were likely very untenable at that time.

[@anniebodyhome1000]

Got a bit of the Three Mile Island look going.

[@jeromesims]

1:20 - Visible at the cliff edge directly under and in front the broch are at least two layers of very square looking, straight-edged stones. Is that natural geology, anyone?

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

That's a modern-day sea defence, I believe!

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

if thats how they looked they look cool as hell

[@franksullivan1873]

Defensive structure for sure.

[@PartlySunny74]

Great video! Thanks! Can someone point to a map/guide to Brochs for trip planning purposes? Sounds like an excellent vacation!

[@iainmaclean612]

We made this for you!

[@tarjei99]

If there is no barn at the Broch site, the brock itself is probably the barn. Dried grass was probably very valuable.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

It may very well have been that - or at least partly! However, the archaeological evidence suggests that a range of activities were taking place here, domestic chores alongside agricultural activities - and it seems likely that it was a residence. But, this is what we hope to understand better through our project!

[@tarjei99]

@@CaithnessBrochProject one activity does not exclude others.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

@@tarjei99 Indeed! Our design incorporates the drying of grain in the upper floor, as we think this is a very plausible idea.

[@tarjei99]

@@CaithnessBrochProject I suspect that the area available is too small for grain drying since grain tend to be dried "on the cob". The grain is not harvested until it is dry enough. However separation and storage is likely to take place inside. It is done so when harvesting grain by hand in Norway. If there is a roof around 2 meters over the floor, it could indicate a barn for some hay in case of bad weather. It could also be used for storing grain.

[@faithlesshound5621]

Go back more than a few centuries, and people were sharing part of their homes (or at least the ground floor) with large animals in most of Europe. Will the "experimental archaeologists" give that a try?

[@tubeboob]

Given where a lot of them are located, it would be sensible that they were built as a way to spot marauders from a distance by land or by sea. It may not have had a covered roof and would have afforded a few precious minutes for locals to flee and hide

[@nodruj8681]

We know it had a roof and inner structures.

[@olgierdogden4742]

“Please sir, can I have some more “..

[@iMertin90]

grew up in a village with one.. torwood

[@oriel9347]

4:10 Guedelon Castle. "Gee-de-lon".

[@RalphEllis]

He does not mention that Brochs are very similar to Sardinian and Balearic Nuraghi - thick walled truncated round towers. It is likely that these round towers were religious, like Irish round-towers and European cathedral spires. The link with Mediterranean islands comes from Scotichronicon, the ancient history if the Scot. This says that Queen Scota of Egypt was exiled to the Balearics, and then to Ireland and Spain. Thus the traditions of these round towers is more than obvious - they were Magdals, phallic temples. See: Scota, Egyptian Queen of the Scots. Ralph

[@gio7799]

In Sardinia we have more than 7000 of these towers called Nuraghi and we still are not sure about their purpose.

[@jackieking1522]

Dun Troddan and Glenbeag Broch are so close together I wondered about broch villages being a thing?

[@nigeljohn65]

They remind me of some buildings in the Great Zimbabwe ruins.

[@veronicaroach3667]

Just goes to show that humans did the same things world-wide - hardly surprising !

[@gio7799]

You don't need to go to Africa to see similarities with other towers, we have something similar in Italy, in Sardinia there are more than 7000 towers called Nuraghe.

[@sebc8938]

Quite reminiscent of the nuraghes of Sardaigne.

[@greaterastoriahistoricalso5334]

My guess is that they were used as store houses for an ancient trading network based on tin and amber that extended back to the Bronze Age.

[@honodle7219]

Nobody would build a house with walls that thick. It occurs to me it was used for mainly crop storage, which is something you may want to have a strong place to defend from the barbarians on the other side of the mountain. There may have been space for living quarters as well, and any number of other activities. This is just speculation of course.

[@mrburn6119]

Question why would no one build a wall that thick for a house?

[@inambaloch19]

❤️❤️

[@Watcher1852]

OH MY WHAT FUN, I THINK THIS IS GREAT

[@penguinista]

Sweet! I hope they hit it out of the park

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Thank you! If you'd like to help then please give us a wee follow on our social channels :)

[@qwertykeyboard7640]

They are a land based crannogs ie a settlement. We have something similar here. Instead of stone here They made artificial lakes and artificial islands with several houses and secret entrances. People and animals lived inside the safety of the settlement. Cattle were a form of currency and keeping them alive meant the difference between life and death. Scotland at the time would have been largely forested populated with wolves other predators and various waring tribes. People would travel from place to place using boats trying to raid for resources ie women and cattle as well as coming from the wooded area. To keep and hold your territory you had to have secure "houses". You use what's locally available in this case its stone.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Crannogs are great too - have you visited the Scottish Crannog Centre?

[@qwertykeyboard7640]

@@CaithnessBrochProject no I will put it on my bucket list list though thanks i didnt know Scotland had them tbh

[@crieff1sand2s]

@@CaithnessBrochProject the crannog at loch Tay was destroyed by fire at the end of may 2022....i think its to be rebuilt on the opposite (north) shore, not sure when?..good luck with your project...🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

@@crieff1sand2s That's right!

[@hensonlaura]

Such a brutal life. I am so grateful to be alive today, in the western world. Seen enough of life in 3rd world countries to appreciate food, comfort, freedom from marauders. I'm still fascinated by that old, hard world; just glad I didn't have to raise my children in it!

[@pheebsbee1280]

Weren't the stones for dry stone walling taken from fields to clear them for ploughing or grazing?

[@trekietechie1119]

Unique to Scotland by calling them broch maybe, the ones in Ireland are Dún this or that local name or by its title like The Grianán of Aileach for example in donegal, from where you can literally see Scotland from, when it's not raining that is. The variant with the high tower is a distinctive one though, so maybe marks cattle wealth over grain wealth base perhaps.

[@nicopanama3731]

Windmills

[@Jamil1989]

You just know some "group of people" are going to call them structures from aliens.

[@Rasmajnoon]

What really should bend heads are the vitrified forts,and the extent various people went to try to reproduce the heat necessary,,

[@Valhalla88888]

Scara Brea 2500 BC

[@kateapple1]

Seems like a lighthouse to me!

[@skorrie3849]

They are too many of them. A lot of them are within sight of each other. Just look how many are in Shetland alone.

[@youthinasia4103]

If you want something to last you make it out of stone!

[@Haseri8]

Releasing unofficial LEGO instructions for historical buildings sounds great. Or L:EGO Ideas

[@matsveritas2055]

Just imagine you have to protect yourself against very large wildlife, and none of these look superfluous.

[@hensonlaura]

Most dangerous animals on the planet: Men.

[@gabrielmcmillan]

Well, it was aliens, of course!😂😂😂

[@James_T_Quirk]

Prepared Defensive Position, with a wide view, Chimney effect to funnel out smoke, a safer communal Living Space, that also keeps out the wild animals, whats not to like, but Mysterious?, I have seen a few Doco's on Y/T & not to forget TimeTeams efforts & other Traditional Survey reports, so people have been looking at these for a few years .. Building a new one is a great idea, I would go with masonry wall interlocking blocks too, but maybe computer controlled scanning & organizing of movement of rock Peices to build site, if you want to make a village, may as well make it a New Age Broch..

[@raphlvlogs271]

towering defensive structures existed through out history wherever ranged weapons were commonly used

[@jusufagung]

So that's the ruin of Connor MacLeod's tower ... Where he killed his first immortal.

[@AnyoneCanSee]

This is a great project and I wish you all the best with it. I was just looking at Mousa Brock online and that seems almost complete. It is also right by the water and all the ones I have looked up seem to be within sight of the water. So I'm wondering if being by the water was something to do with their purpose. They absolutely look like they are designed for defence and so perhaps to see and defend against someone coming from the water. One small easily defendable entrance into an open courtyard where men stand. The ability to get to the top from the inside and shoot down on anyone outside. The fact that they haven't found many weapons doesn't change their purpose in my mind. Weapons were incredibly valuable and the most valuable thing a man had. So it isn't strange that swords were not found abandoned at the sites. They would, of course, spend most of their time farming and caring for their animals there but the Broch design and purpose must surely be defensible. They were built long before the Vikings came and so who would raid, that they would need to build these defendable towers all around the Scottish coast? Different Scottish groups attacking each other perhaps? Travelling by boats around to coast to do so? Did the Romans raid around the coast when they were at Hadrian's Wall? There are four Brochs just north of the Antonine wall. Perhaps, the Romans tried to attack from the sea when they were trying to take Scotland. I know they were never meant to have gone further than the Antonine Wall but they could have gone by boat and so they build these defensive towers all around the coast. I'm sure historians will make fun of that idea but I cannot think of another reason to defend the coast 2000 years ago.

[@tullochgorum6323]

Yes - the debate around their purpose has always confused me. They are clearly defensive: 1) There is a low entrance that passes under the walls, where there is an opening above through which defenders could attack you 2) Then you enter an open courtyard surrounded by walls from which defenders could attack you - it is a killing field. 3) Then you have to enter a narrow opening into the walls and ascend a spiral staircase. As with medieval castles, a right-handed defender can stab around the corner, while the attacker is disadvantaged. 4) As you try and fight your way up the staircase, there are openings above you through which the defenders can attack you 5) The upper walls flair outwards, making them almost impossible to climb from the outside. And as you say, they are mostly placed in elevated positions where raiders could be spotted long before they made landfall. This is a brilliant defensive design that would surely have made the broch a secure haven against any seaborne raider. It also makes for an awkward living space, and it is clear that if the primary function was domestic they are enormously over-engineered. I accept that there is room for debate about how the structures were used during times of peace, but there can surely be little room for doubt about their primary function?

[@AnyoneCanSee]

@@tullochgorum6323 - I agree completely and wasn't even aware of all the additional defensive features you mention. I thought about the over-engineering and the thickness of the wall are a dead giveaway as this is something all defensive stone buildings have in common. The effort to build one of these towers would be equal to building a dozen roundhouses and so a dwelling being the primary function makes little sense. As I was wondering about the Romans, I did a little Googling and they found Roman beads in Caithness earlier this year and a Roman coin was found at an Iron Age site in Orkney in 2017. I could be way off but Romans travelling around the coast by boats during their occupation of Britain seems like a possible candidate to build defences against. Many Roman artefacts including pottery and coins were found in the Leckie Broch which is closer to the Antonine Wall. But I guess, it is more likely to be just local tribes fighting each other and each building their own defensive towers.

[@hensonlaura]

@@AnyoneCanSee coins and other items also came via trade, to places Romans never did.

[@ScotlandsBEST]

Probably all about the grape game, us Scotch can't live without the tonics of Scotland. We probably wanted warring nation be aware of our roots, which lie in the stomping of sour fruits. There was probably some bags and pipes nearby.

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

Just a great big Buckfast repository

[@ScotlandsBEST]

@@CaithnessBrochProject They will definitely feel the buckfast suppository rhetoric.

[@ScotlandsBEST]

@@CaithnessBrochProject oh you meant repository? They probably don't have much

[@Arthagnou]

id think they were used to keep cattle and people from being taken by raiders, and a warning sign to those raiders that "we are protected".

[@hensonlaura]

Brochs also signal "We have something to protect" and so announce wealth. Edit: makes me wonder about seige, negotiations, who might be inside, who might be trapped outside, who might be of on a fishing trip and return to find their entire community under fire. In the Iron Age, what kind of alarms would they have? Something clanging as loud as a bell, but differently shaped, I wonder? I have no idea how old the bell as we know it is!

[@Arthagnou]

@@hensonlaura I hear you, but if it was just a show of wealth/power it could be have made of wood or a single layer of stone. Those things are thick and mean business, siege seems to me, to be the primary concern. Lots of ways to express power to those traveling by that dont include 3 foot thick walls. but just my opinion

[@markkilley2683]

Mini castle/fort?

[@Shahzada1prince]

Where in Scotland is this?

[@francesbernard2445]

I wonder why so many civilizations have come and gone each with remarkable sometimes mysterious achievements the remains of which have been left behind for archeologists to study first. Is that because in the quest for further even bigger and better achievements one leader in a line of leaders in each of those civilizations were at the time willing to make the wrong kind of sacrifices to be achieving world wide dominance or what?

[@hensonlaura]

Much of it has to do with natural, endless, climate change. Consider that a few thousand years ago - not very long - Egypt was green and had copious amounts of rainfall. There is water erosion clearly visible on the Sphinx and in the rock pit that surrounds it.

[@mrburn6119]

why do you wonder why? Surely it's obvious, we took architecture ,geometry, mathematics, and philosophy from our ancestors - but when they _tell us_ of a recurring natural cataclysm we just laugh and say "it must be the shrooms". And when the sun goes pop pop with some Carrington style events then that will be the _end of our civilization as we know it_

[@VocalChainsStudio]

Why would you build a multi-use structure which could last many, many generations. Because you’re a bad ass who wants to live in a structure your descendants will also live in, and keep your memories alive.

[@CalebKallimanis-le4zz]

I already really wanna go to Scotland but that would make me wanna buy my ticket a bit sooner 😬

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

You're welcome to Caithness anytime! 😁

[@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb]

Pretty clear to me - these were built to defend communities from Viking Lycans (werewolves and werebears) who attacked their shores ;)

[@CaithnessBrochProject]

We're sharpening our stakes as we speak

[@healydevlin1930]

Perhaps they are watchtower barracks. If the landscape was wild enough it would make sense as a fort...

[@jonrettich4579]

What about Sardinian Nuraghi?

[@tomhenry897]

Look like watch/guard towers

[@fraac]

the broch of gurness, which is a real place