Gurness and Midhowe brochs in Orkney: some problems of misinterpretation

Abstract

Since 1980 a new view about the nature and development of the Scottish iron age broch towers has emerged among younger prehistorians in the north -one which emphasizes their purely local origin and development, wider range of architectural ftatures and long period of construction and use, over half a millennium or more. This contrasts with the author's earlier views which supposed these hollow-walled drystone towers to have been built over a .fairly limited time span in the middle Iron Age, as being structurally homogeneous and as having enough exotic elements among their associated finds to justify the belief that influential immigrants had a hand in the emergence of important elements of the 'broch cultures'. Crucial to the new view is a reinterpretation of the Orkney broch of Gurness which in effect links its architecture to the late bronze age roundhouse site at Bu and supports the theory of local evolution. The evidence reviewed here shows that this view can be sustained neither at Gurness nor at the very similar Midhowe broch nearby. A significant part of the 'new wave' hypothesis about brochs-which has been endorsed by several senior colleagues-is therefore based on doubifitl evidence and a new synthesis is urgently required. This episode seems to be another example of the instability which can a.fftict some modern British prehistoric archaeology, which tends to embrace new ideas too easily and to ignore existing evidence which is inconvenient. BACKGROUND

Mapping the Inhospitable Landscapes of the Orkney Islands using RPAS

“…Those traces of human activity take many forms, e.g. Neolithic megalithic structures (Towers, Card, & Edmonds, ), late prehistoric brochs (Armit, ; MacKie, ) or cairns (Ritchie, ). Today, the modern environment contains both prehistoric and historic structures.…”

THE BROCH CULTURES OF ATLANTIC SCOTLAND. PART 2. THE MIDDLE IRON AGE: HIGH NOON AND DECLINEc.200 BC–AD 550

“…Yet the tall stone towers with their elaborate wooden roundhouses must have had a shorter life; proof that one was taken down to a safe height was first found at Dun Mor Vaul, where the later occupation was inside a reduced broch with a new roof‐supporting wall inside. Gurness and Midhowe show the same phenomenon (MacKie 1995a); after demolition stone slab partitions took the place of the wooden roundhouse. Lintels from the upper parts of the towers can still be seen stacked round about (ibid., illus.…”

“…Every broch containing a secondary wall around the interior, or subdivisions of the central court, probably shows the same process, which demonstrates both that the great dry‐stone towers had a limited life and also that the descendants of the first broch family divided up the living space. Midhowe shows this clearly; the court had a central hearth (still preserved under paving) and was originally free of stone partitions, but later it was divided into two halves with a large fireplace in each (MacKie 1995a, 135 ff., illus. 23).…”

“…Thirdly, an analysis of the visible architectural features in excavated and unexcavated brochs – well preserved and largely destroyed – shows the two groups to be very similar (MacKie 1995a, table 1). Taking into account deliberate demolition it cannot be doubted that broch towers were widespread, despite the ruination of so many.…”

“…Not surprisingly the intricate patterns of the chambers and passages both inside and outside the broch suggest a fairly complex social order. However, the assumption is almost certainly incorrect (MacKie 1995a); these Orkney brochs are in their secondary condition – partly demolished and much subdivided. No‐one has yet analysed the design of a broch in its primary tower state – with internal wooden roundhouse and central hearth.…”