MHG1376 - Broch, Burnside
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- BROCH (Iron Age - 550 BC to 560 AD)
Protected Status
Full Description
Broch, Murkle: About 1/2 mile SSE of West Murkle is a grassy hillock on top of which are the remains of a broch. The lower slope, which is steeply scarped, has an elevation of about 8ft, and between its upper edge and the higher portion of the hillock containing the broch, is a level area measuring some 28 to 30ft in width. The upper mound has a diameter of about 60ft and a height of some 8ft. No part of the structure is visible. The hillock has to some extent been ploughed down and broken into on the E side (RCAHMS 1911). Querns and human remains have been found here (ONB 1872).
Name Book 1872; RCAHMS 1911.
Broch (NR) (rems of) OS &2 map, (1970)
The broch, situated on a level field, stands on an amorphous grassy mound, 3.2m max height, which appears to be artificial with many stone slabs visible in the steeply scarped slopes. The broch is a stony circular mound with a 0.6m deep indentation in the centre, and is in all other respects as described above. On the level area between the broch and outer slopes of the platform on which it stands, can be seen a vague grassy bank, 0.5m high, on the N, which is probably either part of an outer defence, or the remains of a collection of cells associated with the broch.
Resurveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (N K B) 16 February 1965.
No change. Visited by OS (J B) 7 December 1981.
ND16 8 MURKLE ND 1626 6881
Possible broch in Olrig, Caithness, consisting of a grassy, flat-topped hillock on which is another mound, thought to be the remains of a broch [2]. No part of the structure is visible, and the overall height is 4.88m (16ft). Querns and human remains have been found here [1], and there are traces of a ditch around the whole, with a bank beyond it on the south-east and south sides [3]. There are traces of outbuildings between bank and ditch on the north-east.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. ND 16 NE 2: 2. RCAHMS 1911b, 87, no. 319: Mercer 1981, 154, no. 516. <1>
Sources/Archives (3)
- --- 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. . 87, No. 319.
- --- SHG3394 Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 7, 17.
- <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. ND16 8 MURKLE.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 1626 6881 (70m by 70m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND16NE |
| Civil Parish | OLRIG |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (1)
- QUERN (Undated)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM531 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/8392 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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