Burn Of Aith
Broch (Iron Age)(Possible)
Site Name Burn Of Aith
Classification Broch (Iron Age)(Possible)
Alternative Name(s) Clodie Knowe; Gord
Canmore ID 939
Site Number HU42NW 6
NGR HU 44119 29355
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/939
- Council Shetland Islands
- Parish Dunrossness
- Former Region Shetland Islands Area
- Former District Shetland
- Former County Shetland
HU42NW 6 4410 2935.
(HU 4410 2935) Brough (OE) (Site of)
OS 6" map, Shetland, 2nd ed., (1903).
A grass-covered mound 9'9" high and covering about 1/4 of an acre.
'That it conceals a structure of some kind is evident and its general appearance is in no way inconsistent with the popular idea of a broch. Without excavation, however, certainty is impossible. The site would be rather un- usual, as the ground in the immediate neighbourhood is flat for a considerable distance round about, so that the defences must have been entirely artificial.'
RCAHMS 1946, visited 1930.
A large, sprawling, turf-covered mound, as described by RCAHM. It has been quarried into in the past, and rabbit holes reveal a large quantity of stone. There are no visible traces of a broch or other structure upon it, but the position is suitable for a broch, and its size and shape are typical of a spread broch mound.
Visited by OS (AA) 8 May 1968.
A machine trench up to 1m deep was cut across the top of the mound to test its nature, due to a planning application. The SW facing section was drawn. Time and money did not allow further investigation.
The trench revealed walls approximately 6m wide, one with traces of an internal cell or gallery inside. The distance in the centre between the two walls was only 2m. There had been burning in situ on either side of the structure, and there was a pit on the SE side. There were no finds, but a few stones showed evidence of having been worked. A few stones bore an, as yet unidentified white coating.
The site is situated in a voe, which is gradually filling up with peat and silt. The site could stand 7m and be well preserved. Identification as a broch was substantiated. Records held at Shetland Amenity Trust.
V Turner 1988.
Field Visit (14 July 1930)
Broch (probable), near Gord, Cunningsburgh. At the extreme head of Aith Voe, close to the S. margin of the public roadway, and immediately behind a small school, is a grass-covered mound which rises to a height of 9 ft. 9 in. and covers an area of approximately a quarter of an acre. That it conceals a structure of some kind is evident, and its general appearance is in no way inconsistent with the popular idea that it covers the remains of a broch. Without excavation, however, certainty is impossible. The site would be rather unusual, as the ground in the immediate neighbourhood is flat for a considerable distance round about, so that the defences must have been entirely artificial.
RCAHMS 1946, visited 14 July 1930 .
OS 6" map, Shetland, 2nd ed., (1903).
Publication Account (2002)
HU42 2 CLODIE KNOWE ('Gord', 'Burn of Aith')
HU 441294
Probable broch in Dunrossness, a grass-covered mound 9 ft. 9 inc. high and standing on a large area of flat ground. No structural features could be seen [1, 2]. In 1988 a machine trench up to 1 m deep was cut across the mound. Two drystone walls were revealed each about 6 m wide, one with traces of an intra-mural gallery or cell on its to The structure was diagnosed a broch, possible still standing several metres high.
Sources: OS card HU 42 NW 6: 2. RCAHMS 1946, vol. 3, no. 1150: 3. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1988, 30.
E W MacKie 2002
