Bell Mount

ND07SE 2 0936 7035.

(ND 0936 7035) Bell Mount (Brough) (NR)

OS 6"map, Caithness, 2nd ed., (1907)

Broch, 'Bell Mount' is on top of an eminence in a grass park. The remains are now of slight elevation and over-grown with turf; it appears to be about 54ft in diameter though none of the structure is visible.

RCAHMS 1911, visited 1910.

In a list of brochs: 'Parish of Thurso, Scrabster, in a field above Scrabster. The "Orkneyinga Saga" mentions a borg at Skarabolstad (Scrabster) in which Bishop John was mutilated by Earl Harold's men.' (But this Saga reference could apply equally to an early version of the castle noted on ND16NW 3.)

J Anderson 1973.

The 'Bell Mount' is a small, turf-covered mound of earth and stones measuring about 20.0m in diameter over all, with an average height of 1.2m. Its flattish top has a diameter of about 8.0m. Two small modern mutilations are on its N edge. It is more likely that this is the remains of a cairn and not a broch.

Revised at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (W D J) 16 April 1962.

(ND 0936 7035) Bell Mount (NR)

OS 1:10,000 map, (1976)

Bell Mount is as described by previous OS field investigator and lacks any distinguishing features to enable positive classification. However, the position on a prominent eminence and the absence of any visible large stones, in situ or loose, suggests a cairn rather than a broch.

Visited by OS (N K B) 19 August 1976.

A grass-covered hut circle, comprising a subcircular enclosure, 14.5 by 13 by 0.5m high, with depressions and mounds.

R J Mercer 1981.