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Doon Castle Broch is an iron-age
broch In archaeology, a broch is an British Iron Age, Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Brochs are round ...
located in
Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
().


Location

The Broch is located on the
Rhins of Galloway The Rhins (or Rhinns) of Galloway is a double-headed peninsula in southwestern Scotland. It takes the form of a hammerhead projecting into the Irish Sea, terminating in the north at Corsewall and Milleur Points and in the south at the Mull of ...
in
Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
.


History

The broch was first recorded by archaeologists in 1912 by RCAHMS in their 'Fourth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway'. It has since been mentioned in several other publications but has yet to have been excavated.


Description

Doon Castle broch is located on the south side of Ardwell Point, which projects out into the North Channel. An early description mentions that the broch is separated from the main land by a wall and natural gully (6 meters across and 2.3 meters deep) crossed by a man-made causeway (1.9 meters wide and 0.9 meters high). The remains of the broch are reasonably preserved, showing that the structure is 9 meters in diameter with walls 3–4 meters in thickness. On the northeast side the wall is preserved up to 1.8 meters in height. This broch had two entrances; one on the north-northeast side (which is blocked by fallen stones) and a second in the south side. These two entrances coincide with land and sea approaches. There is a chamber to the east, with a possible second chamber to the west. The extant remains of the chamber to the east consist of the sides of the entrance (measuring 0.8 meters at the mouth to 1.2 meters closer to the inner wall face). There is far less known about the possible west chamber. Between Doon Castle broch and the northern end of the point there are further archaeological remains, including a wall approximately 2.6 meters thick. This wall appears to enclose an area 14 meters (E-W) by 10 meters (N-S). This outer structure was likely entered in the north-northeast wall, which is situated opposite the manmade causeway.Feachem, R. (1977) Guide to prehistoric Scotland, London. Page: 174 Held at RCAHMS E.2.FEA


Archaeological Finds

Doon Castle Broch has not been excavated, with survey only revealing rubble in the interior.


Images

File:Doon Castle Broch at Ardwell Bay. - geograph.org.uk - 1023487.jpg, Doon Castle Broch at Ardwell Bay File:Doon Castle Broch 20100925 interior.jpg, Doon Castle Broch Interior File:Doon Castle Broch, High Ardwell Bay - geograph.org.uk - 137736.jpg, Doon Castle Broch File:Doon Castle Broch, High Ardwell. - geograph.org.uk - 75868.jpg, Doon Castle Broch


References


External links

* ''The Modern Antiquarian''
Doon Castle (Broch)
{{Broch Brochs Scheduled monuments in Dumfries and Galloway Rhins of Galloway