Dun Carloway

Dun Carloway is one of the best preserved brochs in the country.The original purpose of these buildings is unknown but it is believed that they had a defensive function. Surrounded by primitive dwellings with free ranging livestock, the broch would have acted as a lookout tower. If the settlement came under attack, inhabitants and livestock would enter the tower. The broch at Carloway is perched on a rocky crest overlooking Loch Roag. Part of the wall of Dun Carloway has collapsed allowing us to view the cross-section which clearly shows the double walls which has two teirs of internal galleries formed by flat slabs. These slabs hold the wall together and you can easily climb up close to the top of the tower.

The entrance to Dun Carloway is very low to the ground and narrow, showing evidence that there was once a wooden door. In the doorway is a very small recess which could have housed a guard dog or a suitably armed individual to protect the entrance. The size of the entrance implies that cattle were either not owned by the inhavitants or left to roam free during an attack. There is some evidence that large timbers were used in the original construction, possibly a second level or more likely the roof which would have certainly been of timber construction. Long after the threat of raiders had passed the broch must have been used for other purposes such as storage or even shelter, or considered very important, as there is little evidence that the site was plundered for building stone. Gathering stone for building is a hard job even today and such an abundance of perfectly shaped rock being in one place must have been an incredible temptation for later inhabitants of the area. The timber may have been plundered but it is more likely that it rotted.

You will find more details in the "Location Section"