The Cairns Broch: Excavating the biography of an Orcadian Iron Age household

On-going archaeological excavations at The Cairns, Windwick, South Ronaldsay in Orkney, are unearthing unprecedented evidence for the everyday lives of the inhabitants of a well-preserved Iron Age broch. This clarity allows us to begin to consider a biographical approach to the broch, the life span of the building, and its household(s) from its original inception to its abandonment. In this presentation I would like to use this detail to discuss the role and significance of the broch at The Cairns as a lived space sitting at the heart of a village community and its central importance within the wider Windwick landscape. What can we learn about the roles of brochs in Iron Age society more generally from excavations like The Cairns?

This is a free event, no need to book.