The Tappoch Broch at Torwood, North-east of Dunipace, is situated on a heavily-forested hill which now obscures what would have been commanding views across the plain to the East and West towards Strathclyde.
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
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Tappoch Broch is one of several brochs on the North-western edge of the early historical kingdom of Gododdin, or more precisely, the sub-region of Manaw Gododdin. Brochs of this type generally date from slightly earlier in the late Iron Age and are associated with the proto-Pictish region North of the Great Glen which later became Northern Pictavia. The distribution of brochs across Scotland gives a clear indication of their provenance, with hundreds known in Highland Region, none in Grampian, four in Strath Tay, one in Fife, but a significant handful in ancient Lothian and Strathclyde. However, the Southern brochs generally post-date the main period of Northern broch-building, and the Tappoch Broch is conjectured to have been built and used in the first and second centuries AD.
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
Many of the Lothian brochs seem to have been in use during the period of Roman activity in the Lothians, and it is significant that an old Roman road passes Tappoch on the West side. Furthermore, several of them seem to have been destroyed during this period, which suggests that they were specifically designed for use in resisting the Roman advance. Tappoch Broch, however, was probably part of the Southern Pictish border defences which stretch from around the Dunipace area towards Loch Lomond. Although on the Pictavian-Gododdin border, it is less likely that it was built by and for the Gododdin, unlike those at Calla or Edin's Hall further South. The question is, however, still largely unaswered in the case of the North-western group, of which Tappoch Broch is the most Easterly.
The broch at Tappoch was first excavated in 1864 and yielded a number of finds now in either NMS or Falkirk Museum including a central hearth, three cup-and-ring-marked stones, querns, whorls, pottery, and stone balls. There are also apparently two sculpted stone slabs still in place, one with three concentric rings, and one with a carving of a bar and a figure of eight, although we failed to locate them on our first visit.
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
The broch currently consists of a thick circular outer wall measuring up to six feet high in places, with one main entrance on the South-east and one doorway and stepped passage.
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
As can be seen from these photographs, much of the perimeter wall has survived, being soundly constructed of large, heavy cut stones.
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
The Perimeter Wall, Tappoch Broch
On the Northern side of the broch is a second small circular chamber unusual in brochs of this type, which is possibly a storage room of some kind.
The Circular Storage Room?
The main entrance is on the South-east side, and is still largely intact with heavy stone lintel and a passageway through the thick wall.
The South-eastern Entrance, Looking Out
The South-eastern Entrance, Looking Out
A second doorway is present a few yards from the main entrance, but this leads to a cornered passageway with a series of steps leading up to what is now the top of the permieter wall. Presumably this originally lead to some form of battlement commanding a long view across the plains North of Falkirk, across to the River Forth.
The Doorway to the Stepped Passage
Stepped Passage Doorway, Looking into the Broch
The Stepped Passage
The brochs around ancient Lothian are located in three primary groups, with the majority in this area. It seems likely that this North-western group represents the first/second century Southern borderlands Pictavia, while the remaining three around Duns and Galashiels represent the South-eastern border of Gododdin at that time, with the broch at Calla near Carnwath representing the South-western border of Gododdin. The question remains, however, as to whether all or any of these brochs were built by Picts in an attempt to expand Southwards or simply to secure their own Southern frontiers, or if some or all of them were built along Northern Pictish models by the Gododdin themselves, perhaps representing some form of Pictish military aid to the Gododdin in their attempts to defend themselves from Roman advances Northwards and use Gododdin as a buffer-zone against Roman advances on Pictavia. One way or another, it is likely that all of these brochs represent frontier defences for the kingdoms involved, and thus give us clues as to the geography of those kingdoms in the early Roman period.