Edin's Hall Broch

55.835555555556 - 2.3655555555556Koordinaten: 55 ° 50 '8 " N, 2 ° 21' 56 " W

The system of Edin 's Hall is an archaeological place near the Scottish town of Duns. It consists of an Iron Age broch, a Hill fort and a settlement. The system is known primarily for Edin 's Hall Broch, who with a diameter of 28.5 m, the largest and is the southernmost tower of its kind in Scotland.

History of Research

The first tests of the system have been carried out in 1793 by John Blackadder, who reported the fact that many elements were destroyed by the theft of blocks. In the 19th century, George Turnbull and later his son John carried out excavations, whose sections are still partly visible. John Turnbull also described further damage he then assigned the bustle of treasure hunters. 1887 was the investment in state custody and parts of the Broch were restored.

The recent excavation took Andrew Dunwell in 1996 Historic Scotland commissioned the implementation, after it was revealed that the system is once again endangered -. Inflicted by rabbits.

Edin 's Hall Broch

The Broch was built around 100 AD within the existing plant. Its walls extend even to two meters in height and form a rounded interior with a diameter of 18 m. In the lower double wall three chambers and the narrow entrance are housed. In the entrance there are two designated as a guard chambers rooms. In one of the chambers is the beginning of a stairway that ran inside the wall and originally probably resulted in an upper floor, which has not survived. The interior is paved with stone slabs to a quarter that replace a previous paving of gravel. The hallway and the other chambers have such a slab floor. Under the paving of a chamber of a disk-shaped copper ingot was discovered, which is interpreted as a stock or a votive offering. He brings the Broch residents in connection with the approximately 1 km from the copper mines of Elba. The Broch has its own ramparts, which separates him from the settlement.

The settlement

The age of the settlement can not be determined exactly, but it is believed that she was coexistent with the Broch. The settlement consisted of 12, as the Broch built in dry-wall way, roundhouses, and a building with a rectangular plan. The round houses are round -storey huts that were probably covered with a conical wooden roof. The settlement has its own, also stone ramparts, which also formed several courtyards. From an input in the east a passage leads to the Broch in the West. The findings of the settlement consist of stone tools and partly damaged pieces of jewelry such as amber or stone beads. It also stone rings of different size were found, which could also be used as an ornament or as a weight for looms.

The Fort

The Hill Fort encloses Broch and settlement and has an area of ​​about 150 m length and 90 m width. The double wall and grave system is still well preserved. In the northeast, the trenches are built over the courtyards of the settlement and Roundhouse 6 is built entirely outside the enceinte of the plant. It is believed that the fort has existed since the Bronze Age, but is due to the sparse Fund situation, an accurate determination difficult.

Literature and sources

• Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-288002-0, (Oxford archaeological guides ).
• Web archive of 11 June 2007 of the incorporated website: Edin 's Hall in the Archaeology Data Service ( PDF) September 15, 2012