1899-1900. | The Broch of Torwoodlee. 119 
The excavations at Torwoodlee gradually revealed the remains 
of a large broch, almost circular in form, with a total diameter 
of 75 feet, and with an interior court of 40 feet diameter. 
The remaining part of the wall, which was laid bare, and which 
we now see, was 3 feet in height, and in greater part 174 feet 
in width or thickness, though at the south-west corner it was 
19 feet. The entrance was at thé east side, with a general 
width of 3 feet 9 inches right through the 174 feet thick wall ; 
but near the middle of this entrance passage there was a rebate 
on both sides to admit of a heavy door being opened and 
swung back. Within this door, and on the south side of the 
main passage, there was another nafrow passage, which led into 
the guard chamber, still well outlined, and which was apparently 
64 feet in width and of some considerable length. Entering 
the interior court, there was observable at the south-west side a 
third passage, leading to a chamber formed within the 19 feet 
_ wall at this part, and which is still in good preservation, being 
well built, and measuring about 14 feet in length, with a flight 
of steps at the farther end, apparently leading to upper cham- 
bers in the wall. These beehived apartments or honeycombed 
‘recesses in the thick walls were apparently used as retiring 
_ chambers, and have been observed in many other brochs. 
The building construction of the Torwoodlee broch was in 
all respects good—large placed stones formed the outside ring 
of the wall, and smaller stones the inner ring, with loose 
— rubble between. The masonry at the entrance to the 
chambers was very creditable to the builders. Indeed it is 
_ said that three generations ago the broch was used as a quarry, 
some 2000 cartloads of stones being removed from the site of 
_ the broch and its entrenchments and used for building neigh- 
bouring dykes and outbuildings. 
On carefully examining the inner court or central area, it 
was found covered with a thin layer—1 to 2 inches—of ashes, 
which were carefully sifted, and yielded principally fragments 
of pottery, of a kind better than the broch pottery of the North, 
being manufactured on the wheel and fired by the potters’ 
kiln, and were mainly Roman in origin, There were frag- 
ments of bowls and other vessels, of bright-red glazed Samian 
ware; other fragments of red but not glazed, known as false 
Samian ware; pieces of jars of hard blueish-black ware, known 
