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MHG2327 - Broch - Green Hill

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Green Hill (NAT) Broch (NR)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1975)

Green Hill, a grassy mound measuring 32m in diameter and 2.4m in height, conceals the remains of a broch.
RCAHMS 1911, visited 1910

The site was Scheduled in 1934.

The only part of structure visible is entrance passage, facing SE, which has been partially cleared out, exposing 5.4m on N side of the passage wall. S door check is clearly evident but only vestiges of N can be seen. At this point the passage is 1.4m wide, reducing to 0.9m; the roof is lintelled. The inner end of the passage is obscured by rubbish, but entrance to a guard chamber can be seen on N face, although curve on S face seen by the RCAHMS in 1910 is not evident.
Resurveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (R D) 28 October 1965

No change. Visited by OS (J M) 5 March 1982

'Broch', Greenhill. Diameter: 32m. Circular grassy mound 2.4m high, the entrance on the SE axis, with door checks visible on either side. The passage is 1.4m wide, tapering to 0.9m and is covered by a lintelled roof.
R J Mercer, NMRS MS/828/19, 1995

ND25 17 WESTER WATTEN ('Green Hill 2')
ND/2299 5502
Probable broch in Watten, Caithness, consisting of a grassy mound c. 32m in diameter and 2.4m high. A broch-like entrance passage had been partly cleared out before 1910 [2] and is still visible, facing south-east [1]. A stretch of the north wall of this, 5.4m long, is visible but most of the lintels have all vanished and a door-check is preserved on the south side. Both checks were apparent in 1910, at distances from the exterior of 2.44m (8ft) on the left and 2.60m (8ft 6in) on the right [2]. In front of the door-frame the passage is 90cm wide and 1.4m behind it, contracting again to 81cm (2ft 8in) at a distance of 4.27m (14ft) from the exterior. Here the first surviving lintel is met.
The doorway to a guard chamber 25cm (2ft 6in) wide can be seen in the north wall, 5.64m (18ft 6in) from the exterior. In 1910 the length of passage wall visible was 9.46m (31ft) on the left and 8.75m (29ft) on the right. This great length must mean that the broch entrance has been extended at some stage. The extension might be inwards since the door-checks are relatively close to the outer end; on the other hand the great distance of the guard cell from the exterior suggests an outward extension, in which case there would be a door in this such as is found in other brochs.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. ND 25 NW 9: 2. RCAHMS 1911b, 56-7, no. 464. <1>

The site was re-scheduled by Historic Environment Scotland in 2016. <2> <3>

The GIS spatial data was amended in 2017 to better reflect its location and extent on OS MasterMap. <4>

Sources/Archives (5)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred ND 2299 5502 (40m by 40m)
Map sheet	ND25NW
Civil Parish	WATTEN
Geographical Area	CAITHNESS

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