Glasgow Archaeological Journal

The finding at Leckie of a large proportion of the type of equipment (including weapons and farm tools) used by a well-off occupier in 2nd AD leads to reaffirmation of the view that the onset of broch-building relates to a new phase, in the Middle Iron Age, of contact with S England, Ireland, and Brittany. Cited in support are glass bracelets and beads; rotary querns of disc type, usually with capacity for adjusting fineness of product; and pottery which may be compared with a fluted-rim black-burnished ware from Brittany. The function of brochs is clear, from Shetland evidence, as fortified farmhouses of a minor tribal aristocracy, each controlling twenty-fifty nearby families.

Remains of a cist-cemetery included three cists and several cist-features with urn fragments and remains of cremations. Three radiocarbon dates were obtained, one in 17th century bc and two in 11th bc.

Two rampart sections cut in advance of destructive works suggested the former presence of a burnt timber structure. Occupation deposits were found in the interior, and a 14C date for pre-rampart occupation lay in later 1st millennium BC cal to earlier 1st millennium AD cal.

A promontory fort on the Firth of Cromarty may have originated in 6th century bc but was re-used in 10th or 11th century ad. No finds.