Part of a thick wall survives by Loch Ayre, where excavators uncovered an Iron Age tower’s interior details. Broch (an Iron Age drystone round tower) of Ayre, also called St Mary’s Broch, is a broch, a drystone Iron Age roundhouse tower found in northern Scotland.
The surviving remains are modest, but the excavations were rich. Work in 1901 and 1909 revealed an entrance passage, guard cell, radial partitions, a well, later external buildings, metalwork, gaming dice, animal bone, and traces of reuse or remodelling.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
Broch of Ayre stands on the northern shore of Loch Ayre in Holm parish on Orkney Mainland. The broch was first excavated in December 1901 and again in summer 1909.
Little now survives, though part of the broch wall remains extant. The 1901 excavation found a south-east-facing entrance passage with a broken lintel and guard cell.
The interior contained radial partitions made with vertical slabs and a lintelled well. The 1909 excavation revealed external buildings that were probably later than the broch.
Iron finds included two spearheads and an axehead, with one spearhead associated with the guard cell. Other finds included bronze pins, a bronze ring, bone pins, combs, cetacean bone vessels, dice, pottery, animal remains, bird remains, and human bone.
Evidence of metalworking included fused pottery and iron in a conglomerate mass.
What to look for
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Wall remnant
Part of the broch wall still survives.
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Excavated plan
The known plan included an entrance, guard cell, partitions, and well.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 58.8963°N · 2.9210°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Easy going
Opening & admission
The source pack does not provide reliable current admission details; verify before travelling.
- The pack describes the location and remains but gives no current visitor access details.
Nearby places
Questions people ask
- What is Broch of Ayre?
- It is an Iron Age broch on the northern shore of Loch Ayre in Orkney.
- What is a broch?
- A broch is a drystone Iron Age roundhouse tower found mainly in northern Scotland.
- What did excavation reveal?
- It revealed the entrance passage, guard cell, partitions, a well, later buildings, and a large artefact assemblage.
- What finds were made?
- Finds included iron spearheads, an axehead, bronze objects, bone pins and combs, dice, pottery, animal remains, and human bone.
Sources
Explore more: Fortified places · Iron Age · Orkney Islands
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