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Hempriggs is a broch located 200 metres south of the settlement of Hempriggs in Caithness, Scotland. Brochs were Iron Age defensive structures built across northern Scotland between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. These distinctive round stone towers typically stood between 10 and 15 metres tall and featured hollow-wall construction with internal galleries and staircases. The broch at Hempriggs is built upon Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock, a Devonian conglomerate interspersed with sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that forms the underlying geology of the Caithness landscape.
The tower's builders exploited the locally available stone to construct its walls, creating a structure that would have served both defensive and residential purposes. The building technique and form are consistent with other brochs of the Far North, adapted to suit the exposed terrain and climate of northern Scotland.
Hempriggs broch is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM883, recognising its archaeological importance as a significant survival of Iron Age settlement and fortification in one of Scotland's most northerly regions.
Hempriggs, broch 200m S of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM883. View the official record →
Hempriggs is a broch located 200 metres south of the settlement of Hempriggs in Caithness, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM883.
Hempriggs, broch 200m S 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.
Hempriggs, broch 200m S 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 SM883.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Ulbster School, broch 125m S of Schoolhouse (6.3 km), Watenan,broch 140m N of,Ulbster (6.6 km), Watenan,fort 165m NW of,Ulbster (6.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Hempriggs, broch 200m S 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.
Hempriggs, broch 200m S of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.