The
best preserved broch in Scotland: it is over 13m tall, little short of its
original height. This magnificent building stands on a rocky headland on
the west coast of the uninhabited island of Mousa (Shetland). Despite traces
of outbuildings, the broch has never been surrounded by a village.
The tower's diameter is 15m at the base, tapering to 12m at the top. The
walls are 4.5m thick, leaving an interior only 6m across, further reduced
by the insertion of a later wheelhouse.
There is only one narrow entrance, with no guard cells, but there are three
large cells within the thickness of the wall-base. A stone stair rises spirally
inside the wall, lit by vertical gaps in the inner broch's face.
In care of Historic Scotland |