Backies Broch

Backies Broch is an Iron Age broch in Sutherland, Scotland, roughly north of Golspie.

Name

The broch takes its name from the much smaller crofting settlement, Backies, which sits on the hillside below it.
Backies likely derives from the Old Norse bakki, meaning "bank" or "edge".

Description

Historic Environment Scotland describe Backies Broch as a "complex stone-built substantial roundhouse, dating from the Iron Age". The broch sits on a prominent knoll overlooking the valley formed by the Golspie Burn, above sea level.
Backies Broch has a total diameter of. Its stone walls measure up to thick, creating an interior space roughly in diameter.
At one point, the broch would have had multiple storeys, reached by an intramural stair that was still intact entering the 20th century.
Beyond the broch are traces of a large outer wall, alongside several outbuildings.

Excavation and scheduling

Backies Broch, along with nearby Carn Liath, was first excavated in the mid-19th century under the orders of the Duke of Sutherland. Unfortunately, much of its construction appears to have been damaged during the excavation process.
The broch was not listed as a scheduled monument until 1939. While its relative remoteness has protected it from overtourism, it has also made it harder to preserve, compared to the much more accessible Carn Liath.