{{Orphan|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Backies Broch | native_name = | alternate_name = | image = Backies Broch in the Snow - geograph.org.uk - 4330685.jpg | caption = Backies Broch in the snow, with Ben Bhraggie visible in the background | alt = | map_type = Scotland Highland | coordinates = {{coord|57.9974302|-3.9759561|display=inline}} | location = Scottish Highlands | type = Broch | epochs = Iron Age | ownership = Historic Environment Scotland }}
'''Backies Broch''' is an Iron Age broch in Sutherland, Scotland, roughly {{convert|1.6|miles}} north of Golspie.
== Name == The broch takes its name from the much smaller crofting settlement, Backies, which sits on the hillside below it.
Backies likely derives from the Old Norse ''bakki'', meaning "bank" or "edge".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=W. J. |date=January 1906 |title=Some Sutherland Names of Places |url=https://ia800805.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/13/items/crossref-pre-1909-scholarly-works/10.2307%252F30069857.zip&file=10.2307%252F30069878.pdf |journal=The Celtic Review |volume=2 |issue=7 |pages=361 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>
== Description == Historic Environment Scotland describe Backies Broch as a "complex stone-built substantial roundhouse, dating from the Iron Age". The broch sits on a prominent knoll overlooking the valley formed by the Golspie Burn, {{convert|180|m}} above sea level.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Historic Environment Scotland |date=23 December 2025 |title=Backies, broch 300m N of Whitestone Croft |url=https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,SM1835 |url-status=live |access-date=23 December 2025 |website=Historic Environment Scotland}}</ref>
Backies Broch has a total diameter of {{convert|18.25|m}}. Its stone walls measure up to {{convert|5|m}} thick, creating an interior space roughly {{convert|8.25|m}} in diameter.<ref name=":0" />
At one point, the broch would have had multiple storeys, reached by an intramural stair that was still intact entering the 20th century.<ref name=":0" />
Beyond the broch are traces of a large outer wall, alongside several outbuildings.<ref name=":0" /> [[File:View over Backies Broch and Golspie - geograph.org.uk - 4679355.jpg|thumb|Backies Broch from the north, overlooking the North Sea]]
== Excavation and scheduling == Backies Broch, along with nearby Carn Liath, was first excavated in the mid-19th century under the orders of the Duke of Sutherland. Unfortunately, much of its construction appears to have been damaged during the excavation process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Backies (Broch) |url=https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/18648/backies |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=www.themodernantiquarian.com |language=en}}</ref>
The broch was not listed as a scheduled monument until 1939.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stuff |first=Good |title=Backies, broch {{convert|300|m}} north of Whitestone Croft, East Sutherland and Edderton, Highland |url=https://ancientmonuments.uk/127789-backies-broch-300m-north-of-whitestone-croft-east-sutherland-and-edderton-ward |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=ancientmonuments.uk}}</ref> While its relative remoteness has protected it from overtourism, it has also made it harder to preserve, compared to the much more accessible Carn Liath.
== References == <references />
Category:Scheduled monuments in Highland Category:Buildings and structures in Sutherland