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Dun Troddan is one of the best preserved brochs in Scotland. It stands on a level rock platform north of the Abhainn a’Ghlaine Bhig, in the lower reaches of Gleann Beag. The neighbouring broch of Dun Telve lies 470 metres to the west, whilst the 'semi-broch' known as Dun Grugaig is around 2 kilometres to the southeast.
Dun Troddan was first sketched in about 1720 when it was still an intact tower. It is thought that it was over 12 metres high in 1720. It was robbed for stone in 1722 during the construction of Bernera Barracks in Glenelg. The broch was visited by Thomas Pennant in 1772, and it was still a substantial structure, although it had lost the upper gallery by this time. The broch consists of a drystone tower which measures around 17.5 metres in diameter, and currently stands to a maximum height of 7 metres. The external walls are 4.5 metres thick at the base.
The entrance is on the southwest side, and is now roofless. On the left side of the entrance passage is a small side-chamber, sometimes called a 'guard cell'. The broch has features now missing from Dun Telve; these include a number of postholes in the floor and a hearth. Built into the hearth is a broken quern-stone. The central court is an almost perfect circle with a diameter of 8.56 metres.
An internal doorway in the remaining high part of the wall provides access to a stairway. From here it is possible to ascend nine stairs to a first floor landing. The landing is 5.7 metres long, at a height of 2.4 metres above the central court. At the end of the landing can be seen the first step which would have led up the next flight of stairs.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
