Driving from Stornoway in Scotland to Calloway, cars drive alone on narrow roads, Atlantic breezes blow through the deserted Isle of Lewis, and only the ancient secrets hidden in the Outer Hebrides are nothing but swaying green grass, wildflowers and black-faced sheep.
Dun Carloway Broch, perched on the rocks of Caloway Hillside, blends in with the bright green grass that surrounds it. The castle has lost its top of the tower, only half of it remains, bare, and at a glance, there is a little loss in the heart. But Scottish guides stressed that this humble round stone tower is a monument more than 2,300 years ago.
"Broch" comes from the Scottish word for "fortress", which is a common building in the Atlantic region of Scotland, mostly round or oval stone houses, also known as Atlantic round houses. The castle of Duncalloway is the largest "Broch" in the Outer Hebrides, and one of the better preserved of the five to six hundred in Scotland.
Climb the hillside, pass a patch of heather, and walk with awe to the castle gate, the internal structure of which shows the dusty prehistoric world. From the damaged side, it can be seen that the outer wall of this "double-walled dry stone tower" gradually slopes and shrinks inward, the low door is still intact, the remaining wall on the east side is more than 9 meters high, and the lowest wall is only more than one person high.
The castle is also known as the "Stone Tower". The "Dry stone" structure of "dry stone double wall" is a pure stone construction structure method, and the stones whose facades fit each other and are conducive to load-bearing are selected, and mortar is not needed to bite and build each other. The same is true of the Black Houses of the Outer Hebrides, which are the best choice on islands with few trees.
What is a "double wall" in a "dry stone double-wall" structure? The walls of the castle of Duncaloway are double-layered, with an outer diameter of 14.3 meters and an inner diameter of 7.4 meters, with an outer wall and an inner wall, supported by stones in between.
Infographic of the Scottish Historical Environment Agency
The supporting stones between the mezzanine between the double walls are also a stone staircase that can go to the upper floor, and the mezzanine space is the widest enough to accommodate people, storage, and even sheep, and more importantly, to ensure that the bottom wall of the stone tower has a stable support.
The construction materials of the castle of Don Carloway are all unique to the island, and the castle is made of large stones to form the base of the foundation, and archaeological findings have not excavated any traces of trenches. More than two thousand years of wind and rain have failed to shake the foundation of the stone tower.
British architectural illustrator and digital reconstruction artist Bob Marshall used a computer 3D model to reconstruct another "Caithness Broch" double-walled dry stone tower, which provides a glimpse of the internal structure of Duncarloway Castle at that time.
Bob Marshall's Caithness Broch restoration
The narrow door, which leads into the entrance passage and leads to the bottom of the stairs, has an eerie and inviting feeling. During the archaeology of the castle, many fragments of pottery, stone tools and snail shells were found. The pottery was buried in peat ash, which archaeologists identified as a product of the Iron Age.
No wells have been found in the castle of Dun-Carloway, and not far below there is a freshwater lake, Lake Duin, which may have been the source of living water at that time. There are still some remnants of buildings around the castle, but no remains of other animals have been found in or near the castle, raising doubts about its residential purpose.
Between the interior and exterior walls, there are spiraling stone steps leading to the upper level of the tower, and there are two large square holes in the walls, probably for the beams of the wooden floors on the upper floor, but the true height of the castle of Don Carloway is still unknown.
Above the castle of Dun Carlowe, you can observe the surrounding movement and easily detect potential threats, and it is speculated that it is a round house where tribal chiefs lived, and it is also a defensive fortress. However, it is still unclear who built the castle of Dun Calloway or why.
According to historical legend, around 1610, the Morrisons of Ness lived at Duncalloway Castle and the MacAulays lived in Uig. The Morrisons stole the Macaulay cattle and hid in the castle after being discovered, but the Macaulay besieged but could not enter.
Donald Cam Macaulay of the Macaulay family drove stakes in the stone crevices of the outer wall (it is also said that he stuck a dagger in the stone crevices), climbed to the top of the castle, threw into the burning heather branches, and the Morrisons were smoked out of the castle, and the Macaulay defenders eliminated them and destroyed the castle.
With the sadness of Scottish legend, drive away from this British prehistoric site, and not far away you can see the vast Atlantic Ocean, and the Duncarloway stone tower stands like a fortress standing on the bay.
As a jewel in the history of Scottish architecture, Duncalloway Castle leads people beyond the threshold of time and space into a unique journey to Scotland.
Tips for visiting the castle of Don Carloway: 1. The best season to visit is from June to August every year. 2. Do not climb or remove any stones. 3. The castle is about 16 miles from Stornoway, fly to Stornoway from Glasgow or Inverness in the UK, and then drive there. 4. The best time to photograph the castle is at sunrise and sunset, when the light casts a magical light on the castle.
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