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Field Visit
Date 4 September 1930
Event ID 1125897
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1125897
Broch of Burland, Brindister. This ruined broch stands just beyond the neck of a rocky, turf-covered headland which projects southwards into the sea between Gulber Wick and the East Voe of Quarff. The site is protected on three sides by precipitous cliffs, while approach to it from the N. is barred by the formidable series of defensive works which are shown on the plan. The wide. outermost line is a shallow ditch 22 ft. wide. Behind this there comes what has been a rampart revetted with stone, or possibly a stone wall, 18 ft. thick. Nearly midway in its length it is broken by an entrance gap, 8 ft. Within are two very shallow ditches with a wall or rampart between them, all three being interrupted opposite the gap so as to leave room for a roadway. The innermost line is formed by a rampart or wall,* the W. portion of which was probably carried right on until it abutted on the outer face of the broch. The E. portion, on the other hand, seems to have stopped short on the edge of the roadway, indicating that those making for the door of the main structure must have turned to the left here.**
The broch itself stands close to the edge of the cliff on the W. side of the headland. It is now in a ruinous condition, the interior being a mere mass of debris. Apparently, however, it has had an over-all diameter of about 65 ft. The greater part of the wall, which is about 15 ft. thick, survives to a height of 9 or 10 ft., and occasionally more. At the N. and N.E. it is broken down for quite one third of its circumference, though even in this segment it is still possible to detect traces of a gallery. Galleries at an upper level can also be seen within the wall-thickness on the E. and W., and there is a single oval-shaped cell on the E. side of the entrance-passage at the S.W. This passage, the opening into which is only a few feet from the edge of the cliff, is 3 ft. wide at its outer extremity. About halfway in, it has an upright door-check on either side. Beyond the checks it gradually widens to 5 ft. and then contracts to barely 4 ft. 6 in. at the inner end. On the right or E. side a short, narrow passage leads to the cell or 'guard-chamber' mentioned above. This cell is now partly choked with debris, so that entrance can be had only through a hole in the roof. At the lowest level now exposed it measures 9 ft. 3 in. in length by 4 ft. 6 in. across the widest part. The passage has been prolonged through two lines of later concentric walling, each of which obviously belongs to a different period. The first of these rests against the inner face of the broch wall and measures 5 ft. 6 in. in thick- ness, while the second rests against the first and is 4 ft. 6 in. thick. The effect must thus have been a final reduction of the internal diameter to 14 or 15 ft. The debris which fills the central court obscures nearly all signs of the additions.
RCAHMS 1946, visited 4 September 1930.
O.S. 6"map, Shetland, 2nd ed., (1903).
*For some distance at least on the west side of the approach it is quite definitely a wall, 10 feet thick.
**The low ridge joining the eastern portion to the broch is probably nothing more than an accumulation of debris.
