Dùn Mòr at Vaul in 2001

Photograph of the broch at Vaul in 2001.

Excavated by Dr Euan MacKie in the 1960s, the broch measures 9.2 metres in internal diameter with dry-stone walls up to 4.5 metres thick and was once probably 8 metres high. Built around the middle of the 1st century AD, the absence of a permanent central hearth suggests it was used originally as a temporary refuge.

The upper storeys of the broch were subsequently dismantled and a round-house, possibly an aisled wheel-house, may have been constructed in the interior. It housed a flourishing community engaged in mixed farming, iron-working and bronze-casting.

Radiocarbon dating of organic material indicates that the site was inhabited from the late 6th or 5th century BC to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, though perhaps not continuously.

Colour photograph of the interior of the Vaul broch in 2001.

The interior of the broch at Vaul photographed by Catriona Hunter in February 2001. Excavated by Dr Euan MacKie in the 1960s, the broch measures 9.2 m in internal diameter with dry-stone walls up to 4.5 m thick and once probably 8 m high. Built around the middle of the 1st century AD, the absence of a permanent central hearth suggests it was used originally as a temporary refuge. The upper storeys of the broch were subsequently dismantled and a round-house, possibly an aisled wheel-house, constructed in the interior. It housed a flourishing community engaged in mixed farming, iron-working and bronze-casting. Radiocarbon dating of organic material indicates that the site was inhabited from the late 6th or 5th century BC to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, though perhaps not continuously.