Qualla: Broch of Gurness https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/t/b/broch-of-gurness-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Broch of Gurness https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness Broch of Gurness: Introduction https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness/ Photo credit Shadowgate, CC BY 2.0. In 1929, Robert Rendall -- an Orkney poet and naturalist better known for his shells than his archaeology -- was sketching on the northeast coast of Mainland Orkney when the leg of his stool broke through the grass into a void. What lay beneath was not a rabbit hole but the remains of an Iron Age village that had been hidden for centuries. The Broch of Gurness, overlooking Eynhallow Sound about fifteen miles northwest of Kirkwall, turned out to be one of Orkney's most substantial prehistoric settlements.

Read more: Broch of Gurness on Qualla

Image: Shadowgate | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/t/b/broch-of-gurness-wp/gftb-broch-of-gurness-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Broch of Gurness: The Tower and Its Village https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness/ Photo credit Sangwinc, CC BY-SA 4.0. Settlement at Gurness began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At its heart stood the broch itself -- a circular stone tower with walls up to 4.1 metres thick and remains still standing 3.6 metres high. The roof was probably conical or gently curved. Brochs are unique to Scotland, ...

Read more: Broch of Gurness on Qualla

Image: Sangwinc | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/t/b/broch-of-gurness-wp/gftb-broch-of-gurness-the-tower-and-its-village.mp3 0:06 2 full Broch of Gurness: Concentric Defences https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness/ Photo credit Ellievking1, CC BY-SA 4.0. The village was not defenceless. Concentric ditches surrounded the settlement, creating rings of protection that any attacker would have had to cross before reaching the broch itself. The defensive layout suggests a community that took the possibility of conflict seriously, even ...

Read more: Broch of Gurness on Qualla

Image: Ellievking1 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/t/b/broch-of-gurness-wp/gftb-broch-of-gurness-concentric-defences.mp3 0:06 3 full Broch of Gurness: Stone Against the Sound https://qualla.com/broch-of-gurness/ Photo credit Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0. Gurness overlooks Eynhallow Sound, the channel separating Mainland Orkney from the island of Rousay. The setting is windswept and exposed, the kind of landscape where building in stone was not an aesthetic choice but a practical necessity -- there are no trees in Orkney to speak ...

Read more: Broch of Gurness on Qualla

Image: Chmee2 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/t/b/broch-of-gurness-wp/gftb-broch-of-gurness-stone-against-the-sound.mp3 0:06 4 full