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Publication Account
Date 1995
Event ID 1016764
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016764
The broch here is only a low circular wall, but the interest lies in the associated structures found in the excavations by Sir Francis Tress Barry of Keiss Castle at the end of the last century. Unfortunately these structures have since decayed and are overgrown with long grass In summer. Nevertheless, some of the plan can be made out. The broch is built on a high rocky headland between two inlets, defended by a stout rampart faced with stone walls and a large curved ditch, only partly excavated. The entrance through the rampart has checks for two wooden doors, and there are the remains of stairs inside leading from ground level to the wall top. (Stone slabs bridging some of the holes on the site are modern, put there to assist visitors.) The entrance to the broch is round the far side. This was a solid-based broch, the entrance to the stair and any galleries being higher in the wall and now lost. There are a few partition slabs and a stone tank set in the broch floor.
All the rest of the headland is covered with the remains of buildings which seem mostly to be a contemporary settlement, in contrast to Forse Wag (no. 94) and Yarrows (no. 105) where the outbuildings are clearly later. These are now rather a jumble of ruins, with a large mound among them which is the excavator's spoil dump.
On the cliff near the broch is a strange monument known as Mervyn's Tower, built of rough stones and adorned with a number of grotesque heads. This was erected to Tress Barry by John Nicolson, the local farmer and sculptor who helped with his excavations. There are more sculptures in the garden of Nicolson's house, between the carpark and the museum. Back at the carpark is a picnic place, and a path down to the tiny harbour. More information about the broch and other local sites, with an excellent video 'Caves, Cairns and Castles', can be found in the Northlands Viking Centre in Auckengill.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Highlands’, (1995).
