MHG1095 - Broch, Upper Borgue
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- BROCH (Iron Age - 550 BC to 560 AD)
Protected Status
Full Description
Broch (NR) OS 6" map, (1965)
Immediately behind the farm of Upper Borgue are the ruins of a large broch, considerably overgrown with vegetation. The entrance, in ESE, has been partly opened up. It is 3ft wide and appears to be in a very perfect state, but it is being used as a place for depositing the kitchen refuse of the neighbouring farm. On W, a portion of outer face of wall has been exposed for a distance of some 40ft and a height of 5ft. The diameter overall is 63ft, and about 30ft across the hollow depression on the top. The elevation from bottom of the building is 12-14ft. The broch has been built on a natural hillock, and from S round to NW it has been defended by a wall some 21ft distant from its base.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1910.
All that remains of the broch and its accompanying outer wall is a large mutilated mound with a large depression on its summit. The mound measures 25 by 26m and is about 4.5m high. The structure has deteriorated considerably since it was seen by the RCAHMS, and only a small part of wall can be seen on the S side. The entrance is now filled with debris, and a great quantity of stone lies scattered on and around the mound.
Visited by OS (W D J) 23 June 1960.
A broch obscured by its own debris.
Visited by OS (N K B) 15 November 1982.
ND12 6 UPPER BORGUE ND/1243 2708
Probable broch in Latheron, Caith-ness, consisting of a vegetation-covered mound 3.7-4.3m (12-14ft) high and in which the entrance, 90cm (3ft) wide, is traceable on the east-south-east; in 1910 it had been partly exposed [2] and was then in a good state of preservation, though being used as a midden dump. Part of the curved outer wallface was exposed on the west, for a distance of 12.0m (40ft) and up to a height of 1.5m (5ft). The overall diameter is 19.2m (63ft), and the building has been erected on a natural hillock. There are traces on the north-west of an encircling wall 6.4m (21ft) out. The structure has deteriorated considerably since 1910 [1].
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. ND 12 NW 7: 2. RCAHMS 1911a, 56, no. 206.
Sources/Archives (2)
- --- SHG2664 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Third report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Caithness. . 56, No. 206.
- <1> SHG26111 Text/Publication/Monograph: Mackie, E.. 2007. The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC - AD 500: Architecture and material culture Part 2 (I & II) The Northern and Southern Mainland and the Western Islands. BAR British Series. 444. Paperback. ND12 6 UPPER BORGUE.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 1242 2708 (70m by 70m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND12NW |
| Civil Parish | LATHERON |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM596 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/8064 (View HES Canmore entry for this site)
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