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Balantrath is a Iron Age broch located in Caithness, northern Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a conglomerate of mixed sedimentary rocks dating to the Middle Devonian period that characterises much of the Caithness geology. This substantial stone foundation would have provided a stable base for the broch's distinctive circular drystone towers, which typically rose to heights of 10–15 metres and served as communal strongholds or high-status residences for the local population between approximately 100 BC and AD 100.
The broch's position in Caithness places it within the densest concentration of these monuments in Scotland, where they cluster more thickly than anywhere else in Britain. Brochs are uniquely Scottish Iron Age structures, characterised by their hollow-walled circular design and intra-mural galleries that allowed access to upper storeys. The surrounding landscape of flagstone hills and moorland would have been home to the farming communities who built and occupied such structures.
Balantrath is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM522, recognising its archaeological significance as evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and social organisation in the far north of Scotland.
Balantrath,broch 135m WNW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM522. View the official record →
Balantrath is a Iron Age broch located in Caithness, northern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM522.
Balantrath,broch 135m WNW of dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a broch. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Balantrath,broch 135m WNW of is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM522.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Rinsary, broch and post-medieval farmstead 300m SSW of, Berriedale (7.9 km), Cnoc Fionn,hut circle 250m SW of (8.2 km), Langwell Castle or Achastle,230m E of Langwell House (8.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Balantrath,broch 135m WNW of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Balantrath,broch 135m WNW of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.