Caisteal Grugaig facts for kids
Interior of Caisteal Grugaig
|
|
 Location in Highland
|
|
| Location | Scottish Highlands |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 57°15′59″N 5°32′21″W / 57.26649°N 5.539271°W |
| Type | Broch |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age |
Caisteal Grugaig (also known as Dun Totaig) is an ancient stone tower called a broch. It was built a very long time ago during the Iron Age. You can find it near the eastern end of Loch Alsh in the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
Where is Caisteal Grugaig?
This broch is located in an area called Lochalsh. It's about 9 kilometers (or 5.5 miles) northwest of a place called Shiel Bridge. The broch sits on a small, rocky hill that has grassy slopes around it.
There are other famous brochs nearby, often called the "Glenelg Brochs." These include Dun Telve and Dun Troddan, which are a few miles to the south. It's important not to confuse Caisteal Grugaig with another similar ancient building, the "semi-broch" known as Dun Grugaig, which is also close to Glenelg.
What Does Caisteal Grugaig Look Like?
Caisteal Grugaig is a large, circular stone tower. From the outside, it measures about 16.5 meters (about 54 feet) across. Inside, the space is about 9.6 meters (about 31 feet) wide. Because the ground it was built on wasn't perfectly flat, the floor inside the broch slopes a bit.
The main entrance is on the northeast side. It has a huge, triangular stone slab, called a lintel, placed over the doorway. Just inside the entrance, on the left, there's a long, narrow room known as a guard cell. This was likely used by guards.
Inside the broch, at ground level, there are two more rooms built into the thick walls. One is a small, oval-shaped room. The other is a longer room, or "ground gallery," which has a blocked-off doorway. You can also see parts of an upper room above the entrance passage. There's also a doorway that leads to a stone staircase built into the wall. This stair has five steps that go up to a landing, and from there, another flight of stairs begins.
Discoveries and Digs
People have explored Caisteal Grugaig over the years. The broch was first cleared out in 1889. Unfortunately, there aren't many detailed records left from that early dig. Another attempt to excavate the site happened in 1924, but it didn't find much.
However, one interesting item was found here: a decorated cup made from steatite. Steatite is a soft stone, also known as soapstone. This special cup is now kept safe in the National Museum of Scotland.
