Broch ‘to be preserved’ as part of Spittal Quarry extension

An ancient broch within the proposed extension area of a Caithness flagstone quarry is to be preserved, says the company director.

Spittal Quarry is set to extend its work as the current site approaches the end of its commercial life, with the prehistoric broch located there set for a new beginning.

With the quarry nearly exhausted of stone, an application has been lodged with Highland Council for the new site which incorporates the 2000-year-old Iron Age broch.

The council website states: “A&D Sutherland Ltd has submitted a planning application to Highland Council for the new quarry which will be used to extract high-grade Caithness flagstone.”

The applicant adds: “The existing quarry is now depleted and has less than two years’ supply of commercially usable material remaining. The extraction will be undertaken in phases with ongoing restoration taking place in the quarried areas as the next phase progresses.”

The planned site of 34.6 hectares is adjacent to the existing quarry and shows the broch lies within the scope of the proposed area. Marked as a ‘Pict’s House’ on older Ordinance Survey maps, the Spittal Farm broch is described in the National Record of the Historic Environment catalogue (Canmore) as a “grassy mound evidently covering the ruins of a broch”.

“It is about 80ft in diameter and 6 to 7ft high. The tops shows a depression about 34ft in diameter and 4 to 5ft in depth,” states Canmore which says that the site was partially excavated in 1910 and some chambers discovered.

Iain Maclean from the Caithness Broch Project said he fully supports the extension to Spittal Quarry and has been in touch with A&D Sutherland concerning the matter.

He said: “We met with them about this some time ago. They can extend the quarry but cannot disturb or move the broch as it’s a scheduled monument.

“There was discussion about the possibility for excavation but it was quickly made clear that the full excavation and removal of a broch is a long term and costly process.

“It is unlikely that any applications will be granted that affect a scheduled monument. But the quarry can and should extend away from the scheduled area.”

Lauren Livingston is associate senior architectural technologist with A&D Sutherland’s agent and says that the broch “is to be preserved and is outwith the proposed development area” of the quarry extension.

“The broch is included in the scope of the restoration plans for the existing quarry, restoring the visual connection between this broch and the neighbouring broch to the south,” she added.

Mark Mancini, managing/quarry director with A&D Sutherland, says that the existing quarry at Spittal has been developed in many phases, commencing commercially in Victorian times, although quarrying has taken place there for much longer.

He adds: “In order to continue, the quarry must expand, but in advance of applying for the new quarry area, an extensive process of developing a reinstatement plan for the existing quarry was undertaken. With assistance from the local authority, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and NatureScot we have been able to develop a programme for reinstatement that everyone was able to support.

“The first phase of this reinstatement is well underway, and a key component has been the removal of stockpiled material to allow for visibility between the broch within our property and the nearest broch on a neighbouring farm.

“It was only through discussion with HES that we discovered the importance of intervisibility in the siting of brochs and we were very happy to be able to restore this historic feature of the landscape. Apparently, they were located in this way to allow signals to be passed from one broch to their neighbours and down the line in the event of an approaching danger.”

Mr Mancini says that another historic feature that the company is exploring as part of its screening for the new quarry expansion is the use of new flagstone “fencing” the vertical flagstone boundaries that separate fields in this area of Caithness.

“We can’t find any evidence of such fences having been formed since the 1970’s and even then only as a demonstration of how it was done.

“We are therefore excited to see this technique revived even if only in this isolated instance.”

He says “there isn’t much likely to change at Spittal” and that the quarry will expand slightly northwards. “We have already started restoring from the south, with the intention that the area covered by the quarrying remains essentially the same size.”

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