Torwoodlee Broch
| Torwoodlee Broch | |
|
Selkirkshire | |
|---|---|
 Torwoodlee broch, entrance | |
| Type: | Broch |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT46553847 |
| Location: | 55°38’13"N, 2°51’2"W |
| Town: | Galashiels |
| History | |
| Built Iron Age | |
| Information | |
Torwoodlee Broch is the remains of an iron-age broch located near Galashiels in Selkirkshire, one of very few brochs to be found outsode the northern Highlands. It bears comparison with another southern broch, Edin's Hall Broch in Berwickshire.
The broch stands on the site of an earlier hillfort on the shoulder of a ridge.[1] The hillfort is an irregular oval in shape, measuring about 150 yards by 149 yards.[1] The broch itself is on the southwest side of the fort and partly on top of the defences. The diameter of the broch is 76 feet and the outer wall is 17 feet thick.[1] The central court has a diameter of about 39 feet.[1]
The broch stands about two miles south of another, Bow Castle Broch.[1]
Excavations
The broch was first cleared out by James Curle in 1891 at which time much Roman pottery and glass, together with a 1st-century AD coin were found inside it.[1]
The site was systematically excavated in 1950 by Stuart Piggott.[1] More Roman pottery and glass was found beneath the wall of the broch.[1] The broch appears to have been built soon after the Romans withdrew from the area in about 100 AD, and was thrown down again shortly afterwards, perhaps by a Roman expedition preparing for the reoccupation of 140 AD.[1] The many fragments of Roman material found in the broch might be explained as loot from the nearby legionary fort at Newstead (Trimontium).[1]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Torwoodlee Broch) |
References
- Stuart Piggott (1953), Excavations in the broch and hill-fort of Torwoodlee, Selkirkshire, 1950, Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., Vol.85