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MHG7421 - Broch, Carn Mor

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Full Description

NH49NE 3 4903 992
Carn Mor (NR) OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 1st ed., (1875)

Carn Mor, a large cairn according to the ONB, an uncertain broch according to Graham (A Graham 1949), and a much ruined broch according to Watson (W J Watson 1904). In 1888 it stood 5-6 ft high, and the overall diameter was about 65 ft. (R Pococke 1887)
Name Book 1875

Carn Mor, a broch, surviving as a mound of tumbled stones, about 2m high, on a low natural knoll. The outer wall face can be seen on S side for a length of 12m and maximum height of 3 courses (See Illustration Card) with traces of inner face in same arc indicating a wall thickness of 4.3m. All other details are obscured by tumble or destroyed by robbing from E.
Re-surveyed at 1/2500 (Visited by OS (R D L) 24 May 1963)
Visited by OS (N K B) 30 September 1969

Carn Mor (NAT) Broch (NR) (remains of) OS 6"map, (1969)

The broch is as described. An overall dimension of 16-17m diameter is estimated.
Visited by OS (J M) 27 October 1976

NH49 1 CARN MOR 2 ('Birchfield')
NH/4903 9926
This probable broch in Kincardine, Sutherland, survives as a mound of tumbled stone and was once considered to be a cairn [1]. The outer wallface, showing to a maximum height of three courses, can be seen on the south side for a length of 12.0 m; traces of the inner face in the same arc suggest that the wall is 4.3m thick here [1]. No other details are now visible among the rubble.
However in his comments on Bishop Pococke's tour of the area in 1760, Kemp says that in 1887 the inside of the “Birchfield broch” was "still standing, 5 or 6 feet in height and 33 feet in diameter."; he also says that "The outside diameter was about 65 feet." [3, 113, f.n. 4], though no source is given for these statements. If this was the second site mentioned by Boece early in the 16th century as standing near the Dornoch Firth ("There are preserved, in a certain valley in Ross, two edifices of antiquity, monuments of a round shape, made in the form of bells." (See NH68 1), It might be thought that reference was being made to the two brochs in Glen Beag, near Glenelg (NG81 2 and NG81 3); though now in western Inverness-shire the border with Ross-shire is only a few miles to the north of the glen. However Boece’s reference to the town of Tain makes it clear that they were on the Dornoch Firth (see Dun Alisaig)) then Carn Mor 2 may also have been a high tower just under five hundred years ago. However it is not clearly marked as 'Dun' on Pont's map (see the entry for Dun Alisaig – NH68 1) [4] even though the place names of the nearby farms are recognisable there. The second bell-like tower may in fact have been Leachonich (NH68 2) below.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NH 49 NE 3: 2. Graham 1947, 96: 3. Kemp (ed.) 1887: 4. Stone 1991: 5. Watson 1904, 19. <1>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 4903 9925 (70m by 70m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH49NE
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	KINCARDINE

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