The 2,000 year old skyscraper!
Imagine living in a house that’s completely round. That’s what life might have been like over 2,000 years ago inside an Iron Age building called a broch (say it like brock).
The amazing Ousdale Broch in Scotland is one of the best examples. These huge, circular stone towers are the tallest prehistoric structures ever found in Britain! They were like giant stone rings, with super-thick walls that had hidden rooms and little sleeping nooks inside.
Archaeologists aren’t totally sure what they were for—were they forts, or big family homes? Some were so tall they could have reached 13 meters high! That’s like a four-story building!
A brand-new broch might be built soon for tourists, so more people can explore this ancient mystery. Why not write your own letter persuading people that this incredible structures should be preserved for the future?
Free resource for teachers
About the author
I write novels for children: Fir for Luck (2016), Punch (2017), Wilderness Wars (2018), Black Water (2019), The Siege of Caerlaverock (2020), The Chessmen Thief (2021), The Reluctant Rebel (2022), Rivet Boy (2023), The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots (2024), I Don’t Do Mountains (2025) and To War with Wallace (2025). In addition, I have written two non-fiction books for adults called Scottish by Inclination (2021) and Made from Girders (2023). Alongside writing and visiting schools as an author or storyteller, I also work as a drama teacher in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland.
Time Tunnellers 