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Cummi Howe is a broch situated in Orkney, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM1256. Brochs are distinctive Iron Age stone towers, typically dating between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, found exclusively in Scotland. These remarkable structures served defensive, domestic or prestige functions within Iron Age communities, and their design—featuring hollow-walled circular towers with internal galleries—represents sophisticated architectural knowledge.
The broch sits on bedrock composed of Middle Devonian sandstone, the dominant geological formation of Orkney's landscape. The underlying geology of siltstone and marl interspersed within this sandstone sequence would have influenced both the quarrying of stone for construction and the stability of the site. The local availability of this durable sandstone provided essential material for the tower's dry-stone walls, which were built without mortar using the distinctive broch-building technique.
As a monument of the Iron Age period, Cummi Howe represents an important phase in Orkney's prehistory, when these islands supported settled communities engaged in farming, animal herding and exchange networks across northern Britain. The survival of the broch's remains contributes valuable evidence to understanding the architectural traditions and social organisation of Iron Age Orkney.
Cummi Howe, broch is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1256. View the official record →
Cummi Howe is a broch situated in Orkney, Scotland, and is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM1256.
Cummi Howe, broch 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.
Cummi Howe, broch 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 SM1256.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Upper Sower, coastal battery N of, Clestrain (4.4 km), Graemsay Battery, coast battery and camp (5.3 km), Skerry Battery, coast battery (WW2) 460m NNE of Bu (6.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cummi Howe, broch'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.
Cummi Howe, broch stands on Middle Devonian sandstone, bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is major:{sandstone}, Minor{siltstone,marl}.