Across northern Scotland, you can still see the skeletal remains of prehistoric skyscrapers known as brochs. These enigmatic drystone towers dominated the landscape 2,500 years ago - yet so much of their story remains shrouded in mystery. One of the most incredible structures still visible today is Clachtoll Broch, home to a family of Iron Age farmers before tragedy struck. With a fire ravaging the country side and home, it's a site of incredible devastation. So what can we learn about it today?

In this episode, Tristan travels to northern Scotland to meet archaeologists Gordon Sleight and Dawn McLaren, whose incredible discoveries at Clachtoll have shed new light on the brochs and the people who built these extraordinary ancient skyscrapers. Looking at the archaeology, architecture, and the landscape - they help build a picture of what life was like over two millennia ago.

The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie

The Assistant Producer was Annie Coloe

Mixed & edited by Aidan Lonergan

For more Ancients content, subscribe to our Ancients newsletter here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code ANCIENTS for a free trial, plus 50% off your first three months' subscription. To download, go to Android > or Apple store >

Paris-OL: Det ligger en frykt i luften

Forklart

Intro

The AI-powered Podcast Player