Bow Castle Broch facts for kids
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 Location in Scottish Borders
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| Location | Stow of Wedale |
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| Coordinates | 55°39′57″N 2°51′28″W / 55.665942°N 2.857845°W |
| Type | Broch |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age |
| Designated | 28 February 1924 |
| Reference no. | SM1162 |
Bow Castle is an ancient ruin in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It's what's left of a very old building called a broch. Brochs were built a long time ago, during the Iron Age. You can find Bow Castle near the Gala Water river, in a place called Stow. It is protected as a special historical site.
What is Bow Castle?
Bow Castle is the remains of a building from the British Iron Age. This was a time in history before the Romans arrived. The castle is actually a type of ancient tower known as a broch.
Exploring Bow Castle
Bow Castle stands on flat ground. It is located near a steep slope, southwest of the Gala Water valley. The walls of the broch are very thick, about 4.1 metres (13.5 feet). Inside, the circular area is about 9.7 metres (32 feet) across.
This broch is quite rare! It is one of only three brochs still remaining in the Scottish Borders area. The other two are Torwoodlee Broch and Edin's Hall Broch.
Digging Up the Past: Discoveries
Archaeologists dug at Bow Castle in 1890. They found pieces of pottery, including some from Roman times. These Roman pieces were from around the 2nd century AD.
Later, in 1922, another interesting find was made. A small bronze brooch was discovered among the old walls. This brooch was shaped like a cockerel (a rooster) and was also from the 2nd century AD. It was decorated with colourful enamel.
We don't have a lot of information about when Bow Castle was built or exactly how it was used. This is because there haven't been many modern digs there. However, another broch called Torwoodlee Broch is only two miles north. It was built and then destroyed during the time the Romans were in southern Scotland. It's likely that Bow Castle had a similar story.
