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Borgue Langwell is an Iron Age homestead situated 150 metres north-west of Berriedale Broch in Caithness, Highland Scotland. The settlement occupies ground formed from Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone laid down during the Middle Devonian period. This geology produces the characteristic red soils and rocky outcrops typical of the Caithness landscape, which would have provided both building material and challenges for Iron Age inhabitants.
The homestead belongs to the widespread pattern of domestic settlements that clustered around broch fortifications in northern Scotland during the Iron Age. Such households typically comprised working families engaged in pastoralism and cultivation, supported by the defensive or prestige structures represented by their neighbouring brochs. The proximity of Borgue Langwell to Berriedale Broch suggests an integrated settlement hierarchy.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM525, reflecting its significance for understanding Iron Age settlement patterns in the far north. Homesteads of this period remain crucial to interpreting how ordinary communities organised their lives and land use alongside the more prominent roundhouse and broch structures that characterise the archaeological record of Iron Age Caithness.
Borgue Langwell, homestead 150m NW of broch, Berriedale is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM525. View the official record →
Borgue Langwell is an Iron Age homestead situated 150 metres north-west of Berriedale Broch in Caithness, Highland Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM525.
Borgue Langwell, homestead 150m NW of broch, Berriedale dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a homestead 150m nw of broch, berriedale. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Borgue Langwell, homestead 150m NW of broch, Berriedale 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 SM525.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Borgue Langwell, broch, outworks and later settlement, Berriedale (0.1 km), Langwell Plantation,souterrain 130m W of Kennels (0.5 km), Langwell Tulloch, broch 400m SE of Turnal Rock (0.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Borgue Langwell, homestead 150m NW of broch, Berriedale'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.
Borgue Langwell, homestead 150m NW of broch, Berriedale stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.