Recreation of an Iron age Scottish tower. The tower is of unknown purpose. But, it is theorized to be for either defensive, or just living purpose. The towers are located all around Scotland, in Shetland, Cathines, and in the Hebrides. Some have even been found near the Scottish border.

These broches weren't all made by expert stonemasons, so they haven't survived through the 2,000 years they have existed. There are only one or two I know of that is still standing, but most have collapse down to their first floor. The reason for this is because these weren't built by wealthy lords, they were built be a community or a town. the towers are also built without any mortar, they are just flat slate like rocks piled on top of each other in a very efficient faction.

The two layer wall allowed for galleries and stairways to be placed within the walls, and the hot air from the central fireplace would circulate and warm the entire tower. The two walls are leaning on each other, and in between the walls are plates of stone. This stone keeps the layers apart, but they also have a unique purpose. When water from rain seeps into the stone it will stop at the layer of air, and then fall to the steps. The steps are angled in a way that it diverts the rain back into the outer wall. This makes the inside layer of the broch completely dry, even in the case of a rainstorm. The cold air from the wet outer wall would sink and the warm air from the fire would be pulled in through small openings in the walls and that's how the warm air got around. The entrance to the broch would also be in the direction opposite to the blowing of the wind. The fireplace is located on the 1rst floor instead of the ground. The air flowing into the ground floor would be flushed upwards towards the fire, and keep it going for a very long time.

These brochs were specifically designed to shield it's occupants from the harsh Scottish weather. It is no wonder that most of the locals would prefer to live right by one. They brochs were usually surrounded by a wall with many stone roundhouses in them. The towers were also more like farmhouses and villages rather than castles. They were meant to protect more against the insane weather than attacking forces.