<< Our Photo Pages >> Broch of Borwick - Broch or Nuraghe in Scotland in Orkney
Submitted by h_fenton on Tuesday, 22 December 2015 Page Views: 12318
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Broch of Borwick Alternative Name: Broch o' BorwickCountry: Scotland County: Orkney Type: Broch or Nuraghe
Nearest Town: Stromness
Map Ref: HY2241416777 Landranger Map Number: 6
Latitude: 59.030951N Longitude: 3.353412W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Redfun visited on 26th Sep 2021 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3
SandyG visited on 7th Jun 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3
jeffrep have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 5 Access: 3
Until the late 19th century, in common with other unexcavated broch sites Borwick survived as a turf covered mound. In 1881 William Watt, of Skaill (who also excavated at nearby Skara Brae) cleared the loose material from the mound revealing the remains of the broch. Watt recorded the broch as surviving to a greater height than it does today, although there have been subsequent losses through collapses and natural erosion, it is also likely that the site served as a convenient quarry of building stone.
Watt also excavated some of the outbuildings/settlement that had built up on the landward side of the broch, today these are just a series of irregular bumps and sections of wall in a state of collapse. The outer part of the site is often neglected as it is not much to look at, although is quite interesting as Watt found the entrance to an underground passage here (souterrain?), although no remains are visible today – presumably it was blocked up again after excavation.
When William Watt excavated the site in 1881 and an account of the excavation was promptly published in the 'Proceedings of the Society' (of Antiquaries of Scotland), unfortunately no plans of what he found have been published (if they were made?). His account of the excavation indicates that he found an incredibly complex site used for a long period of time, with some distinct phases of activity represented by structural changes to the site. Further accounts of the excavation were later published in 'The Orcadian' (newspaper) in 1906 although these are not currently available online.
Access: There is a car park at the end of the road at Yesnaby, you can then follow a path (1.2km) northwards around the coast to the Broch of Borwick.
The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland have all been digitised and are freely (except the most recent volumes) available online from the Archaeology Data Service - see http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm
The specific article we are interested in regards to William Watt and his excavations at Borwick are here:
References: 'Proceedings of the Society' (of Antiquaries of Scotland) Volume 16 (1881-82)
Notice of the Broch known as Burwick or Borwick, in the Township of Yescanabee and Parish of Sandwick, Orkney. (pp 442-50) Watt, William G T http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_016/16_442_450.pdf
Canmore: https://canmore.org.uk/site/1660/yesnaby-broch-of-borwick
This page was originally submitted by Howar
Note: Hamish Fenton has submitted sixteen amazing new 3D models he has created. These are of various subjects, from large brochs to standing stones, to detailed scans of rock art panels. Scroll down the page to see them, and follow the instructions to rotate and zoom them.
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