Nybster is a scattered rural and crofting township, situated in

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

and is in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

council area of

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

. It is located along the A9 road, south of

Auckengill Auckengill is a settlement, south of John o' Groats, on the east coast of Caithness, within the Scottish council area of Highland. Auckengill is situated north of Nybster. Museum As Caithness is the Viking capital of mainland Scotland, Auck ...

and south of

John o' Groats John o' Groats () is a village 2.5 mi (4 km) north-east of Canisbay, in the historic county of Caithness, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's north-eastern tip and is popular with tourists. The northernmost point of mainland Scotland is ...

. It is the location of the

Nybster Broch Nybster is a scattered rural and crofting township, situated in Caithness and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, Highland. It is located along the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, south of Auckengill and south ...

, first excavated by Rev

James Maxwell Joass James Maxwell Joass (1830–1914) was a Scottish minister remembered as a geologist, archaeologist and antiquarian. His multiple excavations often combined his geological and archaeological skills. Life He was born in Tain, Ross-shire on 8 ...

(of

Golspie Golspie ( , ) is a village and parish in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,350. History The name derives from the Old Norse, ...

in 1895 and again by Sir Francis Tress Barry in about 1900. A

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 ...

is an Iron Age building that is unique to Scotland. This one was probably built between about 200 BC and 200 AD and re-used during the

Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...

period (AD 300 - 800). The Caithness Broch Centre nearby provides an opportunity to learn more about the communities that lived in the brochs, those who excavated them and the communities who are still involved with them today.

References

Populated places in Caithness {{Caithness-geo-stub