Dun Troddan

Upper Broch, Glen Elg    Kyle of Lochalsh, Highland

Glen Elg is a few miles south of the bridge to Skye. Some way up the glen are the magnificent remains of two brochs.

Dun Troddan, the Upper Broch, still stands up to 25 feet tall for about a third of its circumference.

The walls are a double shell with a three foot gap between them. This makes them both lighter and stronger than a single thick wall.

Large slabs form the floors of galleries within the wall cavity, with steps spiralling up from one gallery to the next.

There is a large void above the entrance to the wall cavity - this was probably to reduce the weight above a weak point rather than to allow light into the galleries. The wall cavity could only be reached from the inside of the broch.

The entrance to the broch itself is some ninty degrees round from the gap into the wall cavity. Looking from within the broch down the glen, it is possible to see the neighbouring Dun Telve. On the left as you enter is a short space into the wall cavity that would have served as a guard room. A similar guard room can be seen at Dun Telve, but on the opposite side of the entrance.

Around the internal wall of the broch are narrow shelves at two levels. These would probably have supported wooden floors within the inner space of the broch.

A circle of post holes were found in the floor of the courtyard and these are supposed to have held the wooden floors or even supported a roof.