Scotch broch

Tony Robinson and the Team journeyed to the north west of Scotland for this programme for what turned out to be one of the toughest Time Team excavations ever.

The TSeam had been invited to Applecross to excavate what was thought to be a broch, a monumental stone tower that was one of the largest Iron-Age structures in Britain. Brochs, found only in Scotland, have a unique design of two massive circular stone walls, so they should be easy to spot. But this is Time Team and nothing is ever that simple.

With 11,000-volt power lines directly overhead, there was no chance of enlisting the help of a mechanical digger to shift the heavy stone rubble. So there was only one thing for it – the human diggers had to remove tons of rock by hand.

And then it started to rain… And it didn't stop. As the weather conditions worsened the archaeology became ever more complex, pushing the Team's skills and patience to the limit.

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