Edin's Hall Broch
Edin's Hall Broch, showing intramural chambers
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 Shown within Scottish Borders
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| Alternate name | Edinshall Broch |
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| Location | Duns |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Type | Broch |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Historic Scotland |
| Public access | Yes |
Edin's Hall Broch (also Edinshall Broch; Odin's Hall Broch) is a 2nd-century broch near Duns in the Borders of Scotland. It is one of very few brochs found in southern Scotland.[1] It is roughly 28 metres in diameter.
Name
In the late 18th century this site was called "Wooden's Hall or Castle" (Woden the chief god from Anglo-Saxon mythology).[2] Its later name change apparently recalls the legend of the three-headed giant The Red Ettin known in tales and ballads.[2]
Location
Edin's Hall Broch is one of the most southerly broch survivals, which are more typically associated with Northern Scotland.[3] It is 4 miles north of the town of Duns.[3] It stands on the northeast slope of Cockburn Law just above a fairly steep slope down to the Whiteadder Water.[4]
The broch stands in the northwest corner an Iron Age hill fort which presumably pre-dates the broch.[4] The hillfort consists of a double rampart and ditches, enclosing an oval area some 135 metres by 75 metres.[4] The entrance was on the west side.[4] A large circular structure (roundhouse) in the centre of the fort, close to the broch, may have been the most important building before the broch’s construction.[5]
Dating
It is assumed that the hillfort dates to the pre-Roman Iron Age. The date of the broch is uncertain but it has been speculated that it was built between the two main periods of Roman occupation in Scotland: some time in the 2nd century AD. Excavations at Torwoodlee Broch, also in the Scottish Borders, has shown that it was built and demolished during this period.[6]
Within the hillfort is an array of stone footings marking the positions of houses and other structures.[5] Some of the houses overlie the defences – indicating that they are later than hillfort and may be later than the broch as well.[4]
Description
The broch has an external diameter of 28 metres,[4] and an internal diameter of 17 metres.[3] This is unusually large compared with a typical Highland broch and suggests that it may not have been as tall as the northern brochs.[5] The walls of the broch survive to a height of between 1.0 and 1.8 metres.[4] The entrance passage is on the east side and has two guard chambers flanking the doorway.[4] The interior of the broch has three intra-mural cells which are all approximately dumb-bell shaped.[4] The cell on the south side has the remains of a stone stairway at its north end which presumably rose to the wallhead.[4]
The broch lies within a rectangular enclosure measuring about 58 by 54 metres.[4]
Excavations
Edin's Hall was "cleared" by antiquarians in the 19th century.[4] The relics recovered were donated to the National Museum of Scotland. These included a stone spindle whorl, a piece of a jet ring, an amber bead, bones, an oyster shell, and a fragment of a glass bracelet.[4]
Two copper ingots, one of which is now in the National Museum, were apparently found with a metal detector inside the broch in 1976.[4] The ingots were derived from local copper mines and may have been an important source of wealth for the inhabitants.[4]
An archaeological survey and sample excavation was conducted in 1996.[4] A few artefacts including coarse pottery and a stone spindle whorl were recovered.[4]
References
- ↑ Armit, I. (2003) Towers in the North: The Brochs of Scotland. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-1932-3 pp119-132.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John R. Baldwin (1985) Lothian and the Borders, page 132. RCAHMS.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edin's Hall Broch. |
- Use dmy dates from February 2014
- Use British English from February 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Historic Scotland properties
- Berwickshire
- Hill forts in Scotland
- Brochs
- 2nd century in Scotland
- Archaeological sites in the Scottish Borders
- Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Scotland
- Historic Scotland properties in the Scottish Borders
