Stone buildings cluster around the broch (an Iron Age drystone round tower) beside the A9 near Golspie. Carn Liath is an Iron Age broch, a drystone roundhouse tower, on the eastern shore of the Scottish Highlands.
The site is in Historic Environment Scotland care and is visitor-facing, with a car park and information board. Nineteenth-century excavation first mistook the structure for a burial cairn, while work in 1986 showed that the place had Bronze Age occupation before the broch and later outbuildings around it.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Carn Liath was built in the Iron Age near Golspie in Sutherland.
The Duke of Sutherland first excavated the broch in the nineteenth century, when it was initially thought to be a burial cairn.
Finds included pottery, flint chips, stone tools, querns, whorls, shale rings, bone combs, steatite cups, a silver fibula, and an iron blade.
In 1909 the east-side entrance passage was still visible, but by 1960 no structural features were discernible.
Excavation in 1986 showed Bronze Age occupation before the broch was built.
The 1986 work also found a Bronze Age cist burial with a food vessel and foundations of many surrounding buildings.
People
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Portrait: The original uploader was Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at English Wi / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain Duke of Sutherland
Carried out the first nineteenth-century excavation.
Connections
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Golspie
Nearby Sutherland village south-west of the broch.
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A9 road
Modern road beside the site.
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Photo: Sandy Gemmill / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 Historic Environment Scotland
Caretaker of the site.
What to look for
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Entrance passage
East-side passage with door checks and bar-hole.
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Guard cell
Small cell on the right-hand side of the entrance.
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Outbuildings
Ruins of additional stone buildings surround the broch.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 57.9872°N · 3.9121°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Easy going
Opening & admission
- Historic Environment Scotland care with car park and information board.
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Questions people ask
- What is Carn Liath?
- It is an Iron Age broch near Golspie in Sutherland.
- Is it easy to visit?
- The source pack says it is in Historic Environment Scotland care with a car park and information board.
- What did excavation find?
- Finds included domestic objects, tools, ornaments, a silver fibula, and later evidence of Bronze Age occupation.
- Was it always understood as a broch?
- No. The first excavation initially interpreted it as a burial cairn.
Sources
- Wikipedia article
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Explore more: Fortified places · Iron Age · Highland
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