Broch of Burrian facts for kids
Broch of Burrian, interior
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 Location in Orkney Islands
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| Location | North Ronaldsay |
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| Coordinates | 59°20′53″N 2°25′08″W / 59.348129°N 2.418916°W |
| Type | Broch |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age |
The Broch of Burrian is an ancient stone tower from the Iron Age. It is located on North Ronaldsay, one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Brochs are special buildings found only in Scotland. They were built by people living there thousands of years ago.
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Where is the Broch of Burrian?
The Broch of Burrian stands on the southern tip of North Ronaldsay. This island is part of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The broch is built on a small piece of land that sticks out into the sea, right by a rocky beach. To protect it from the land side, there are old earth walls and ditches. These were likely built for defence.
What does the Broch look like?
The Broch of Burrian is a large round tower. It measures about 18 metres across on the outside. The inside space is about 9.5 metres wide. The main entrance goes through the wall on the southeast side. The walls of the broch are very thick and solid. Inside the wall, on the northeast side, there is a small room. Around the broch, on the land side, there are traces of four circular banks or walls. These would have added extra protection.
What was found during excavations?
The Broch of Burrian was dug up by William Traill in 1870 and 1871. He owned the island at that time. During these digs, many old objects were found. A lot of these items were made from animal bones. They included tools and other useful things.
Some finds were from a later time, when the Picts lived in Scotland. The Picts were an ancient people who lived in eastern and northern Scotland. These later finds included a stone slab with a cross carved on it. It also had special ancient writing called ogham. Painted pebbles and part of an iron bell were also discovered. This bell was of a type used by early Christians in Celtic lands.
A part of a Pictish house was also found near the broch. All these amazing discoveries are now kept at the National Museum of Scotland.
How was the Broch used over time?
The evidence from the excavations shows that people lived at the Broch of Burrian during two main periods. Both of these periods were during the Iron Age. In the second period, the broch was changed. It became a type of building called a "wheelhouse." A wheelhouse is a roundhouse with stone walls inside, like spokes of a wheel.
People continued to live here for a long time. Some of the objects found are from as late as the 7th to the 9th centuries AD. This means Pictish people were living there then. The cross-slab and the iron bell suggest that early Christians might have been active in the area. However, there is no other clear proof of a place where monks lived.
