Nybster Broch
| Nybster Broch | |
|
Caithness | |
|---|---|
 Nybster Broch | |
| Type: | broch |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ND37026314 |
| Location: | 58°33’6"N, 3°5’2"W |
| Village: | Nybster |
| History | |
| Information | |
Nybster Broch stood on a headland on the North Sea, on the wild east coast of Caithness, and its remains, the distinctive solid, circular stone wall, remain impressive. The site is found by Nybster, from which it takes its name, and include the remains of an Iron Age village which once surrounded the broch, some of which has been lost to the sea.[1] The remains of a later Norse farmstead are found here too.
The broch has in internal diameter of 23 feet and a wall thickness of 14 feet. In 1910 the maximum height of the walls was 5 feet 3 inches.[2]
The site was cleared and uncovered by Sir Francis Tress Barry in the late 19th century, around 1900. He found neither guard chamber nor mural cells as are typical of such brochs,[1] though these may have there when the broch stood at its full height.
This site has been described as is one of the most spectacular Iron Age settlements in the northern mainland counties, and one of the more accessible broch villages in Caithness.[3] Excavations by the National Museum of Scotland in 2005 demonstrated that despite Tress Barry’s clearance of the site, much of the original Iron Age and Norse period archaeology remains intact.[3]
The Caithness Brochs Centre stands close by.
Location and occupation
Nybster Broch was built on a promontory naturally defended by the sea. Defences were built on the headland, though forework is possibly a later addition, and the whole site is fronted by a ditch about 20 feet wide which cuts the promontory off. Within this natural and man-made enclosure, the broch itself was built. The broch took the form of a stone roundhouse with massively thick walls, of which sufficient height survives to show the impressive construction.
Nybster was occupied from the later Iron Age and into the historic period, developing into a village complex of cellular and stalled buildings, which would once have filled practically the whole promenatary to seaward of the broch. Much hhas been lost to the sea over the ages. Perhaps as much as 1,000 years of settlement are represented in the range of buildings found on site.
Tress Barry's excavation opened to view much of the site which had been buried and revealed the sequence of construction of the buildings surrounding the broch. Excavations in 2005 demonstrated that there are still significant areas of the site though which are untouched, containing pristine archaeology.[1]
Artefacts
Although Tress Barry was more interested in buildings than artefacts, the site has been very rich in material culture: hundreds of sherds of pottery, stone tools, bone and metal objects have been recovered, and are helping archaeologists interpret the history of activity at Nybster
Finds include a fragment of 2nd century Samian ware, as well as the more usual bone and stone objects.
Mervyn's Tower
Sir Francis Tress Barry, having excavated the broch, built there an ornate monument dedicated to his nephew, known as Mervyn’s Tower. The stone for the 'tower' is presumed to have been taken form the excavation, and it was orginally built within the ring of the broch itself.
Mervyn's Tower was decorated with gargoyles and plaques recording Tress Barry’s investigations.
In the 1980s, the tower was partially removed from its site within the broch and rebuilt outside the enclosure. The gargoyles and plaques of the original tower still adorn the new version, however, which provides visitors with a vantage point from which to view the site.
Outside links
- The NybsterBroch Project – AOC Archaeology
- The Caithness Broch Project
- CANMORE (RCAHMS) record of Nybster
