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Tannach Mains is a Iron Age broch situated in Caithness, northern Scotland. The monument stands on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a mixed sequence of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone laid down during the Middle Devonian period. This local geology of relatively soft sedimentary stone would have presented particular challenges to the builders, who constructed the broch's characteristic hollow-walled circular tower using stone extracted from the surrounding landscape.
Brochs represent the most architecturally sophisticated monuments of Iron Age Scotland, concentrated in the north and west. Built between approximately 100 BC and AD 100, these towering dry-stone structures typically stood 12 to 15 metres high, their walls ingeniously buttressed by internal galleries that distributed the immense weight of stone outwards. The broch form remains distinctive: a single entrance passage leads to a central courtyard surrounded by the formidable hollow wall.
Tannach Mains is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM586, recognising its significance as evidence of Iron Age settlement and engineering in the far north. The broch's survival in this exposed landscape of Caithness testifies to the enduring quality of Iron Age construction and to the strategic importance of this region in prehistory.
Tannach Mains,broch 275m N of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM586. View the official record →
Tannach Mains is a Iron Age broch situated in Caithness, northern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM586.
Tannach Mains,broch 275m N 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.
Tannach Mains,broch 275m N 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 SM586.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Watenan,fort 165m NW of,Ulbster (6.2 km), Garrywhin, fort and settlement, Ulbster (6.2 km), Watenan,cairn & stone setting 400m W of,Ulbster (6.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Tannach Mains,broch 275m N 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.
Tannach Mains,broch 275m N of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.