Location | Stow of Wedale |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°39′57″N2°51′28″W / 55.665942°N 2.857845°W |
Type | Broch |
History | |
Periods | Iron Age |
Designated | 28 February 1924 |
Reference no. | SM1162 |
Bow Castle is the remains of an iron-age broch near the Gala Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the parish of Stow. It is a scheduled monument. [1]
Bow Castle (grid reference NT46134171 ) stands on level ground on the edge of a steep slope southwest of the valley of the Gala Water. [2] The broch has a wall 4.1 metres thick, enclosing an area 9.7 metres in diameter. [2]
The broch is one of only three remaining in the Borders; the other two are Torwoodlee Broch, and Edin's Hall Broch.
It was excavated in 1890 when pottery, including some 2nd-century Roman amphora fragments, were found. [2] In 1922 a 2nd-century Roman enamelled bronze brooch in the form of a cockerel was found among the ruins of the wall. [2]
Information concerning the dating and use of the broch is limited due to the lack of modern excavations. [2] However, Torwoodlee Broch, two miles to the north, was built and destroyed during the Roman occupations of southern Scotland and it is likely that Bow Castle shared a similar history. [2]
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Media related to Bow Castle Broch at Wikimedia Commons