Broch of Clickimin

The broch is situated on the south shore of Clickimin Loch, three-quarters of a mile south-west of Lerwick on the Lerwick-Sumburgh road, on a small promontory jutting into the loch. It has an external diameter of around 20 metres and an internal diameter of around 9 metres, and is surrounded by a stone-walled fort consisting of a blockhouse and ringwork. The blockhouse is a free-standing drystone gateway set just within the entrance to the fort.

The entrance to the broch is on the western side. The entrance passage may have had a guard cell, now blocked up, on the right side just inside the door jamb. The interior has two cells within the walls at ground level. There are two further entrances at upper levels: the north entrance leads into the interior and to a staircase, and the other leads to an intramural gallery. Excavations have revealed the postholes of internal timber buildings, and in the 19th century radiating stone piers were said to be visible.

The broch was first excavated and cleared in 1861–2. Following major vandalism and dilapidation, parts of the site were rebuilt by the Office of Works in 1908–10. It was excavated again between 1953 and 1957 by the British archaeologist J. R. C. Hamilton on behalf of the Ministry of Works, and the results were published in his monograph Excavations at Clickimin, Shetland (1968). Before excavation the monument appeared mainly as a grassy mound on the small island, with sections of stone wall visible at the surface.

Excavation showed several phases of settlement. Beneath and around the broch tower were traces of earlier roundhouses and occupation layers, and later inhabitants built a wheelhouse and other domestic structures within the partly collapsed walls. A substantial stone ring wall and an entrance blockhouse controlling access across the narrow approach were identified, together with outer earthworks including a ditch and rampart. No formal burials were identified.