A broad circle of stone sits inside older banks on the slope of Cockburn Law. Edin’s Hall is a broch (an Iron Age drystone round tower), an Iron Age drystone round tower, built into the corner of an earlier hillfort, a defended prehistoric enclosure, above the Whiteadder Water.
Edin’s Hall Broch matters because it turns one fortified place into another. The earlier enclosure, later tower, house footings, antiquarian clearance, copper ingots, and Roman-frontier comparisons make it one of the clearest southern examples of a broch landscape.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
An Iron Age hillfort was built on Cockburn Law before the broch was added.
The broch was built into the northwest corner of the earlier fort.
The site was cleared by antiquarians in the nineteenth century, disturbing many deposits.
Finds from the clearance included a spindle whorl, jet ring fragment, amber bead, bones, oyster shell, and glass bracelet fragment.
Two copper ingots were found inside the broch in 1976.
Survey and sample excavation took place in 1996.
People
-
Historic Environment Scotland
Records Edin's Hall as a scheduled broch, fort, and settlement.
-
National Museum of Scotland
Holds several artefacts recovered from the site.
Connections
-
Photo: Walter Baxter / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 Torwoodlee Broch
A nearby Borders broch used for dating and historical comparison.
-
Bow Castle Broch
Another rare broch in the Scottish Borders.
-
Whiteadder Water
Valley overlooked by the monument.
What to look for
-
Broch wall
The circular stone tower wall survives low but broad.
-
Guard chambers
Guard chambers are small rooms flanking the entrance passage.
-
Intramural cells
Intramural cells are chambers built within the thickness of the broch wall.
-
Earlier fort banks
Double ramparts, defensive banks paired with ditches, mark the older hillfort enclosure.
-
House footings
Low stone traces across the enclosure mark later or associated buildings.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 55.8356°N · 2.3656°W
- Access
- Open access
- Terrain
- Rough ground — reasonable boots advised
Opening & admission
- Upland broch and fort site reached on foot; expect uneven grass and stonework.
Nearby places
Fortified place · Iron Age
Edin's Hall Broch, Fort and Settlement
Scottish Borders
The hilltop on the northeast slope of Cockburn Law was first fortified in the pre-Roman Iron Age, when double ramparts and ditches enclosed an oval…
- Near Duns
- 1.8 km from car park
- Some walking
Minor monument · Medieval
Dovecot, Kirkgate, Chirnside
Scottish Borders
Dovecote with HES-listed pre-1800 evidence (16th century).
Fortified place · Medieval
Fast Castle
Scottish Borders
A dramatically sited Borders stronghold whose repeated changes of hand trace the long violence of the Anglo-Scottish frontier, and whose ruins are…
Questions people ask
- What is Edin's Hall Broch?
- It is a southern Scottish broch built within an earlier Iron Age hillfort near Duns.
- What is a broch?
- A broch is an Iron Age drystone round tower, most common in northern Scotland.
- How old is Edin's Hall?
- The exact date is uncertain, but it is usually compared with second-century southern Scottish brochs.
- What survives there?
- The broch wall, entrance passage, wall chambers, earlier fort banks, and house footings can still be traced.
Sources
Explore more: Fortified places · Iron Age · Scottish Borders
The Ancient Codex, in your pocket
Get the Pocket Codex app
Carry the directory with you — Edin's Hall Broch and thousands of ancient places across Britain and Ireland, offline, wherever you roam.