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Green Hill of Hestiegeo is a broch, an Iron Age defensive stone tower built in the distinctive architectural style that flourished across northern Scotland between approximately 100 BC and AD 100. The monument stands in Orkney, where the bedrock comprises Middle Old Red Sandstone of Middle Devonian age, a foundation of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that characterises much of the northern isles' geology.
Brochs were circular structures with hollow-walled construction, typically featuring a single entrance passage and internal chambers built into the thickness of the walls. Their purpose remains debated amongst archaeologists, though they likely served as high-status residences, defensive fortifications or symbols of territorial authority for elite families within Iron Age communities. The particular landscape setting of Green Hill of Hestiegeo would have provided defensive advantages and vantage points across the surrounding terrain.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM1422, ensuring its preservation as a significant record of Iron Age settlement and construction techniques in the far north of Britain. Such monuments are essential to understanding the sophisticated societies that inhabited Orkney during the later prehistoric period.
Green Hill of Hestiegeo,broch is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1422. View the official record →
Green Hill of Hestiegeo is a broch, an Iron Age defensive stone tower built in the distinctive architectural style that flourished across northern Scotland between approximately 100 BC and AD 100. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1422.
Green Hill of Hestiegeo,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.
Green Hill of Hestiegeo,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 SM1422.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Quoy, anti-aircraft battery (WW2) and radar 220m WSW of (1.9 km), Stromabank Hotel, anti-aircraft battery, radar site and camp 150m NW of (2.4 km), Hackness, Battery and Martello Tower (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Green Hill of Hestiegeo,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.
Green Hill of Hestiegeo,broch stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.