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Dun Troddan

Broch

<b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Kozmik_KenImage © Andy H
Nearest Town:Kyle of Lochalsh (12km NW)
OS Ref (GB):   NG833172 / Sheet: 33
Latitude:57° 11' 39.43" N
Longitude:   5° 35' 14.03" W

Added by Martin

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Photographs:<b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Nucleus <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Nucleus <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by postman <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Hob <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Hob <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by greywether <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by greywether <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Kozmik_Ken <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Kozmik_Ken <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by sals <b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Martin Maps / Plans / Diagrams:<b>Dun Troddan</b>Posted by Nucleus

Fieldnotes

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Only half a kilometer separates this broch from its nearest neighbor Dun Telve to its west, but unlike it's slightly more complete brother it is higher up the northern hillside of the valley, affording it better views up and down the glen and of the mountains, and for that reason I'm out, I mean in, I mean I prefer this one (rolls eyes).
When we first got here there was already two cars so instead of overcrowding the place we went up the road to the burial chamber, which was nice, upon our return we found no cars, and had the place to ourselves, take note incidental tourists that have to read the information board.
For a good ten minutes we poked our noses into every nook and cranny the broch had to offer, we walked round it several times, nearer and farer, yep I like this one best. Fabulous views of the glen, all these trees with afternoon mists wandering round at will, then the other people came, we were nearly done anyway, a couple of minutes more wouldn't have hurt though. Bloody tourists.
postman Posted by postman
1st August 2016ce

Visited 26.7.13

Not quite as impressive as its near neighbour but certainly worth a visit just the same.

There is room to park and a short but steepish walk will soon bring you to the Broch’s doorway. As with Dun Telve there are internal stairs you can walk up which is fun.
The walls are not as high as Dun Telve but still a decent height.

‘The best preserved Brochs on mainland Scotland’ the information panel proclaims.
I wouldn’t disagree as the only better ones I have seen have been on the Scottish Islands.

That’s another two Historic Scotland sites off the list.
All in all well worth the long drive out of our way (at least I thought so!)

If visiting the Brochs check out the ‘Wagon Café’ opposite Dun Troddan.
Definitely the most unusual café I have ever been to!
Is there a more unlikely place to find a café?
Posted by CARL
13th August 2013ce
Edited 13th August 2013ce

Even when it's windy, the walls are high enough to make a nice relaxed picnic quite possible.

This is such a wonderfully secluded and cozy valley, well worth the scary drive up the unfeasibly twisty-steep road to get here. It's a bit easier from Skye, via a slightly less twisty road, and with the added advantage of the spinning ferry.

Disabled access
Not good for wheelchairs, the incline is steep and uneven. It's close to the road though, about 20 yards, so quite visitable by those who can't easily walk far.
Hob Posted by Hob
9th November 2005ce
Edited 10th November 2005ce

Dun Troddan Broch
17/7/94
…and just a mile or so along the road another spectacular broch- these are just fab! The wall height on this one is just a bit smaller than Dun Telve, but the walls are mega thick again. These are magnificent monuments and a great start to our hols.
Posted by Martin
20th December 2001ce

Folklore

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T.M. Murchison was minister of Glenelg in the 1930s, and his mother's people had been shepherds in the area for many generations. His parish history was compiled partly from oral tradition gleaned from older relatives and older parishioners. 'The most famous antiquities in Glenelg' he records, 'are the two brochs or "Pictish towers" in Glenbeg.' At one time apparently there at least two more, but of these only 'a heap of jumbled boulders and stones' remained by this time. Dun Telve and Dun Troddan, however, still stand. It is said when the brochs were being built, stones were handed from the quarry along a chain of men.

A broch or 'brugh' is an archaeological term for the late prehistoric round towers found chiefly in the Orkney and Shetland islands and the Western Isles and on the adjacent Scottish mainland. They are round stone-built towers, and are often popularly supposed to have been built by the Picts or Pechts. Here, however, the brochs are associated with Fionn mac Cumhaill or Fingal and his followers the Fianna, said to have lived in these brochs and resorted to Skye for their hunting. The women of the band, says Murchison, never took food in the presence of their menfolk, but nevertheless remained healthy and beautiful, and the men wondered how the women managed to live on so little nourishment. One day, therefore, while the other men went to Skye, a warrior named Gairidh (pronounced Gary) pretended to be ill and was left lying on his bed, intending to watch the women.

He fell asleep, however, and the women promptly took strong wooden pegs and fastened Gairidh's seven locks to the bottom of the bed, to keep him out of the way, and they proceed to feast on the finest food that glen or river could produce. Gairidh suddenly awoke, was irritated to find he was fastened to the bed, leapt to his feet with a mighty effort, and in doing so left every lock of his hair and the skin of his skull on the bed. mad with pain, Gairidh rushed out, gathered brushwood which he placed around the locked door, and set fire to the dwelling with the women inside, so that none escaped.

Over in Skye, Fionn and the hunters saw the smoke rising and knew that some terrible disaster taken place. They hurried back, vaulting on their spears over the narrow channel to the mainland. One of them named Reithe did not leap far enough and was drowned, and the name of the place from which he jumped, Kylerhea, is said to be derived from

Caol Reithe, 'the Narrows of Reithe'.

Fionn and his men found their women dead and Gairidh missing, but at last he was discovered skulking in a cave and was punished.

An almost identical tradition was reported of Knockfarrel by Hugh Miller in 1835, and used by him to account for the name of Glen Garry, said to be where the murderer was torn to pieces. The tale is a better fir for Glenelg, much nearer to Glen Garry, and Murchison adds further local details: at Kylerhea, he says, you can see the marks made by the warriors' feet as they jumped the water, and at Bernera nearby is a site called Iomair nam Fear More ('the Ridge of the Big Men'), pointed out as the burial place of the 'Fingalians' (the Fianna or Fenians).

It is said that once upon a time a bold man began ploughing up the place, in defiance of local warnings. He turned up a human skull, which was so big that it easily fitted over the biggest man present(alleged to be the Rev. Colin MacIver, minister of Glenelg from 1782 to 1829). Just at that point, however, a terrible storm of thunder and lightning arose, and the ploughing speedily ceased and the skull of 'Gairidh' or some other Fingalian was promptly buried again.

The Fianna were commonly said to be of giant size, so the finding of an unusually large skull may have helped to associate them with the site.

The Lore Of Scotland - A Guide To Scottish Legends

Westwood and Kingshill
drewbhoy Posted by drewbhoy
5th January 2024ce
Edited 5th January 2024ce

Miscellaneous

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This broch was excavated up to 1920 and some find including stone whorls, vitrified beads etc were made- all now in the National Museum of Scotland. Also found were a ring of post holes in the middle of the site that may have supported upper floors/roof. Posted by Martin
20th December 2001ce

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Stone Pages


the Stone Pages entry
Posted by Martin
20th December 2001ce