98 On Edin's Hall, by John Turnbull. 



of so numerous a class of buildings, wbicb. show so little differ- 

 ence in design or dimension," and he then gives a general 

 description of a Broch, as follows : — 



" They are all circular, about 60 feet in diameter externally, 

 and contain internally a court yard 30ft., more or less, in 

 diameter. The walls of this inner court are practically perpen- 

 dicular, while the external walls slope inwards at a considerable 

 angle so as to give the towers the form of truncated cones. The 

 walls of the towers are consequently about 1 5 feet in thickness 

 at the base, and in them on the ground floor are generally found 

 two or three large apartments following the curve of the walls, 

 which were apparently the living rooms of the inhabitants. 

 Above these, still in the thickness of the walls, are generally to 

 be found a series of low apartments, divided by horizontal slabs 

 into berths like those in our passenger steamboats and used 

 apparently for the same purpose ; but higher up, where the 

 walls get thinner, they could only be used as store places or cup- 

 boards for the custody of provisions or valuables. All these 

 apartments were lighted from the interior by openings looking 

 into the court yard, which, at least, originally never appears to 

 have been roofed. In addition to these there is always a stair- 

 case—also in the thickness of the walls — leading from the base- 

 ment to the top of the building and giving access to these 

 various apartments. In none of the Brochs is there any opening 

 externally, except the doorway. That is always on the level of 

 the ground, low and narrow, and leading by a passage of about 

 the same section as the doorway, but 1 5 feet long, to the interior 

 court of the building. There were always apparently two door- 

 ways in this passage, and between the outer and inner either 

 one or two ground chambers, which formed very efficient defences 

 against any one trying to penetrate by this entrance to the in- 

 terior. * "^^ ^' They are all so much alike '^ * that we 

 may certainly assume without fear of error, that they were all 

 erected by one people for one purpose, and within a very limited 

 space of time, say two, or at most three, centuries from the 

 earliest to the last." 



, From the particular description which has been given of 

 Edin's Hall, and Mr Fergusson's definition of Brochs, it is evi- 

 dent that Edin's Hall is a Broch ; but that it differs from Brochs 

 in general in three particulars. ( 1 ) It is the largest Broch in 



