Brockan

Also known as:
Brockan Chambered Tomb
Nearest town:
Stromness (2km E)
OS reference:
HY231096
OS sheets:
6, 7
Latitude:
58° 58' 0.76 N
Longitude:
3° 20' 14.66 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Brockan (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by wideford

eastern side from adjoing field looking NW

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford Nov 8, 2010
Image of Brockan (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by wideford

easterrn side from due W at corner of adjoining field

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford Nov 8, 2010
Image of Brockan (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by wideford

eastern side from the west i.e. NW corner of adjoining field (too wet to attempt going under fence !)

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford Nov 8, 2010
Image of Brockan (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by wideford

some of stones left on top of eastern side, largest 2-3’ high probably

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford Nov 8, 2010
Image of Brockan (Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork) by wideford

I think this is the field next door I referred to. Certainly close by. At right two spaced standing stones and at far right field corner two close together.

Image credit: wideford
wideford
wideford May 29, 2004

Articles

Brockan

wideford
wideford May 17, 2004

My first picture of Brockan I shot from the northern end of the Leafea Stones’ fence. I took several more from nearer the Outertown road later but I think that the pictures will show it looks better from below. Even on CANMAP this is still down as a chambered tomb. Understandable for the size. But a partial excavation found two chambers each with a short passage leading to a common paved stone-walled enclosure (I am reminded that at least one beehive structure used to reside in Breck Farm’s stackyard). So CANMORE says present thinking is a secondary broch settlement or a small Skara Brae type village. Despite, or perhaps because of, the proximity of both Warebeth and Breckness I don’t quite buy it as the former.Three stones still protrude from the top. I tried several other tracks to approach it but none came much closer (it strikes me with hindsight that the best way is likely to be not to go down the turnoff to Warebeth but instead continue along to where the Outertown road takes a sharp turn and go around the field edges at that point). Looked at from the road there appears to be a possible something in the field to its left, though admittedly only a possible cropmark. There used to be a Brockan Standing Stone at HY23140987.
Brockan and my suspect share the same 6-figure NGR. There is a spring next to Brockan and a well close by my suspect. About the same distance from my suspect as that is from Brockan, at HY233096, a cist with three bodies was found in a probably natural sandy knoll in 1845.

Miscellaneous

Brockan
Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork
wideford
wideford Apr 26, 2004

CANMAP still shows this as a chambered tomb, but CANMORE now says RCAHMS NMRS no. HY20NW 1 is the remains of a settlement (presumably centred about the spring here). But they aren’t sure whether it is Skara Brae type or secondary broch. Makes you wonder about other chambered cairns in proximity to brochs, there’s at least one other in a similar situation. Also Hawell burnt mound used to be compared to this, and at both places “rude stone implements” were found.

Topics

Chambered Mounds, not tombs, a viable site-type ? 2

Jul 2005

Sites within 20km of Brockan

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