Tour Scotland travel video clip, with Scottish music, of Ousdale Broch near Berriedale, Scottish Gaelic: Bearghdal, a small estate village on visit to the East Coast of Caithness in the North Highlands. Ousdale Broch, also known as Ousdale Burn or Allt a’ Bhurg, Scottish Gaelic meaning stream of the fort. A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. The sophisticated use of dry stone has led to their classification as complex Atlantic roundhouse. Their original usage is a matter of debate: some have proposed that they were essentially military structures, while today many assert that they had a multitude of uses. The structure itself stands on a narrow terrace at the foot of a long shallow slope. The terrace is bounded to the East by a deep ravine containing the Ousdale Burn, which meets the sea to the South East, and on the south by a shallower ravine containing the Allt a’ Bhurg. The name Ousdale has a Norse origin, suggestive of a strong Norse presence in the area; there are similar indications in the names of neighbouring towns including Helmsdale and Berriedale and at sites along the east Caithness coast. Ousdale or Eyesteindal, is mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga as the site of a confrontation in 1201 between William the Lion, king of Scotland, and the Norse jarl Harald the Elder Harald Maddadsson, ruler of Caithness and Orkney. William, upon hearing of Harald's cruel behaviour towards the people of Thurso in asserting his power, had sent an army north to control the jarl. When they finally met at Ousdale, it was clear that Harald was vastly outnumbered and he asked for peace, resolving the situation without conflict. Brochs are unique to Scotland, with more than than 500 surviving examples.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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