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Lamb Head is a broch situated on the island of Stronsay in Orkney, Scotland. Built during the Iron Age, this circular stone tower represents one of the most distinctive architectural achievements of prehistoric Britain. The broch's construction exploits the local geology, with its walls built from stone quarried from the Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock underlying the site. This Devonian conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone provided readily available building material with which Iron Age builders created their characteristic hollow-walled towers, which typically stood several metres tall and served defensive, domestic or prestige functions within their communities.
The broch at Lamb Head is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5631, reflecting its archaeological and historical significance. Its location on Stronsay, one of Orkney's larger islands, places it within a landscape rich in prehistoric settlement evidence. The survival of broch ruins like this one has provided invaluable information about Iron Age architecture, social organisation and settlement patterns across northern Britain, making such monuments essential to understanding the period between roughly 700 BC and AD 100.
Lamb Head,broch,Stronsay is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5631. View the official record →
Lamb Head is a broch situated on the island of Stronsay in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5631.
Lamb Head,broch,Stronsay dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a broch,stronsay. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Lamb Head,broch,Stronsay 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 SM5631.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Benni Cuml, mound, Housebay, Stronsay (1.9 km), Ward of Housebay,chambered cairn SSW of Housebay (2 km), Auskerry, mound 275m SSW of The Old House (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lamb Head,broch,Stronsay'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.
Lamb Head,broch,Stronsay stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.