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MHG12647 - Broch, Grummore

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Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

Photos 10/2004 - HAW

Brochs are round, tower-like houses, their monumental size intended to display wealth and status ofagricultural communities who lived in them. They were occupied in the later Iron Age and occur frequently in the north and west of Scotland. (41)
Grummore lies right on the shore of Loch Naver, almost opposite another broch on the promontory at Dun Creagach. It is well-preserved, and a ledge on which an upper wooden floor would have rested and an elaborate entrance passage with door checks and a possible guard chamber, can be seen. (50)
The broch lies so close to the loch that water laps against one side of it. A late nineteenth century description of the broch mentions ‘a regular flagged way about twelve feet broad’ running out into the loch until it was lost in deep water. This is no longer visible (50) (9.1m/12.9m/3m)
Armit, I., 1997. Celtic Scotland. Edinburgh: Batsford.
Gourlay, R., 1996. Sutherland. An Archaeological Guide. Edinburgh: Birlinn, pg. 74.
RCAHMS. 1911. Sutherland. Edinburgh: HMSO, 59, No. 174.
Information from SCRAN Project, March, 20

The remains of a broch, 30ft diameter within a wall 12ft 6 ins wide at base and 10ft max height. A scarcement 10 ins wide encircles the interior at a height of 8ft, the masonry below this being more massive than above, and apparently bonded into the wall. The entrance passage, in west is almost blocked with debris externally, but internally is still partly roofed and has a guard-chamber and one extant door-check. There is mural chamber, now almost filled with stones in SW, and remains of a probable intra-mural stair gallery are visible running round northern half of broch. Joass (1865) noted, at a time of low water, 'a regular, flagged way about twelve feet broad' running out into the loch until it was lost in deep water.
J M Joass 1865; RCAHMS 1911, visited 1909.

The remains of this broch are generally as described with both wall faces being visible for most of circuit. Two additional intra-mural chambers were noted, a long narrow slit in SE reveals a gallery below, and a small circular chamber lies a few metres to E of the probable stairway. A few flagstones can be seen in water to SE of the broch, but no obvious pathway is visible.
Visited by OS (W D J) 8 May 1961 and (J B) 21 March 1977.

This site was included in Mackie's 2007 'The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC - AD 500: Architecture and material culture'. See link below to HES Canmore record which includes the chapter on this site. <1>

Sources/Archives (26)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 6106 3669 (70m by 70m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC63NW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	FARR

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