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Scotland is actually home to some of Europe's oldest buildings - in particular, the Skara Brea prehistoric village in the Orkney Islands dating from the Neolithic Period (3180 BC to around 2500 BC). The Knap of Howar is considered to be the oldest house in Scotland. Northern Scotland is also home to a large number of "Iron Age Skyscrapers" the brochs. Another notable ancient type of architecture to be found in Scotland is the round towers.

There are two examples of these round towers still found in Scotland - the Abernethy Round Tower and the Brechin Round Tower. Visitors can visit both of these tours, and they can climb up the Abernethy Round Tower.

Abernethy Round Tower In Scotland
Wikipedia Commons - Kim Traynor
Abernethy Round Tower In Scotland

What To Know Of The 1,000-Year-Old Round Towers Of Ireland & Scotland

The round towers of Scotland are stone-built Irish-style towers - the design was imported from Ireland. While there are only two examples surviving in Scotland, there are dozens of towers still standing in Ireland.

The two Scottish round towers are at School Wynd near Perth, and the other is at Brechin. They are protected.

These freestanding round towers started to sprout up in Ireland in the 900s (which is around when Europe's oldest known operating pub, Sean's Bar, was established).

Around 100 of the towers may have been built in Ireland between AD 900 and 1200 (of which around 60 survive to this day). While they were built as bell towers, they were also sometimes used as treasuries and refuges. Besides those two found in Scotland, the only other one found outside of Ireland is one in Peel on the Isle of Man.

View Round Tower in Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland
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View Round Tower in Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland

Related: This Uninhabited Scottish Isle Is A Day Trip To The Iron Age

Abernethy Round Tower - Its History & Visiting Today

The Abernethy Round Tower dates from the 11th century, and visitors can still climb to the top of the tower today. At the top, people are greeted with sweeping views of the Firth of Tay. It is one of the most unusual historic sites in Scotland, and its origins still remain a mystery.

It is thought the tower was built sometime around 1100 AD (before William Wallace and Robert the Bruce). It is believed to have been a bell tower for an adjacent church (fun fact, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is also a bell tower for a church). The twelve lower layers of the round tower are also made of colored stone that's different from the rest of the tower (it may suggest the base of the tower is older than the rest, plus the tower may have had originally six wooden floors).

The Abernethy Round Tower is around 22 meters high and around 5 meters wide. The width of the walls is one meter.

  • Height: 22.5 Meters (73 feet, 10 inches) or 4.5 meters or 15 feet) wide

The tower also has an old Pictish (the Pics pre-date modern Scots) symbol stone on the tower. But that stone was only added in the last century. The stone dates from pagan times in Scotland - probably back to around 600 AD.

Fife Coastal Path above Newburgh and the Firth of Tay, North Fife, Scotland
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Fife Coastal Path above Newburgh and the Firth of Tay, North Fife, Scotland

One of the most recent additions is the clock which dates from 1868. Other changes over the centuries are minor - like blocking the windows and a metal spiral staircase.

Today the Abernethy Round Tower stands in the center of an ancient village called Abernethy. Visitors climb up the winding staircase and scramble out of a trap door onto the roof. If one is up there, keep an eye on the time so as not to be too spooked when the clock chimes.

To climb up the tower, visitors need to go and get a key from the Museum of Abernethy during their normal operating hours.

Related: Hike The Old Man of Storr & See The Isle Of Skye's Most Iconic Landscapes

Brechin Round Tower: Scotland's Only Other Round Tower

The other round tower of Scotland is the Brechin Round Tower which was also built around AD 1100 (it could be even a century older). It is the second of the two Irish-style round towers of Scotland and is slightly higher than its counterpart.

  • Height: 25 meters high and 5 meters wide
Church buildings on the Rock of Cashel, Ireland
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Church buildings on the Rock of Cashel, Ireland

The Brechin Round Tower was originally free-standing but became attached to the Brechin Cathedral in 1806. The tower also has Romanesque carvings of a crucified Christ, crouching beasts, decorative bands, a lozenge motif, and a pair of saints. The tower predates the Brechin Cathedral - the cathedral data from the 13th century and is today a Presbyterian church. Its name notwithstanding, it is, in fact, a church and not a cathedral.

Access to the tower is only through the Brechin Cathedral when the Cathedral Grounds are open. Refer to their website for information about visiting.

Scotland is the unlikely destination to explore a whole range of ancient and prehistoric ruins.