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MHG58208 - Broch - Loch Ewe

Summary

Possible broch or roundhouse which has been relocated from it original location recorded in 1884 800m north east.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

No obvious broch in the area now, particularly not of this quality - HAW 7/2004

NG88SE 2 c. 87 82.
There is a broch 'with unusually high and perfect walls', on a grassy eminence to E of road between Poolewe and Tournaig.
J H Dixon 1886.

No further information.
Visited by OS (N K B) 12 March 1965.

A desk based assessment using a wide variety of sources and ground survey was undertaken by the National Trust for Scotland of their Inverewe property and estate, published 1998.
'Dixon (1886) reports that: "…. Of other prehistoric remains the Pictish brochs or round houses are perhaps the most notable. ….. Another round house, with unusually high and perfect walls stands on a grassy eminence to the east of the [old] road between Poolewe and Tournaig." This statement has been misquoted in all the references seen in SMRs which note that, for example, "Dixon reported that there was a broch 'with unusually high walls… "
The actual report can be interpreted as follows:
The site, now lost may have been that of a round house or a broch. It was situated on a grassy eminence east of the old A832. The site is now unknown, but NTS site staff suggest that the structure may have been situated on the grassy knoll to the NW of Tigh an Uillt at NG86238174. This eminence was all but removed during the construction of the new road [in the 1970s]. This seems a far more likely siting than one within OS grid square NG8782, which is rough hill ground with no obvious grassy eminences and generally inhospitable. Any drystone structure in the area immediately around the old A832 would have been regarded as a useful source of stone for the fine drystone dykes and cottages that were built in the 19th century at Inverewe. <1>

See MHG7753 for (original 1884) alternate possible location. Is it interesting to note however that for a structure that at the time of recording in 1884 was apparently so obvious, it is neither recorded on the 1st or 2nd edition OS six inch Ross-shire maps.

NG88 1 THURNAIG (‘Tournaig’)
NG/87 82
Site of probable broch in Gairloch, Ross and Cromarty, no trace of which has been found in modern times [1]. In 1886 Dixon described it as a "broch with unusually high and perfect walls" standing on a grassy eminence east of the road from Poolewe and Tournaig [2]. The tower may be another casualty of 19th century road-building.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 88 SE 2: 2. Dixon 1886, 97. <2>

Sources/Archives (3)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 8623 8174 (40m by 40m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NG88SE
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	GAIRLOCH

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

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