Wheelhouse (archaeology)

[1] The distinctive architectural form related to the complex roundhouses constitute the main settlement type in the Western Isles in the closing centuries BC.

[3][4] Amateur enthusiasts did some excavation in the 19th century, but professional examination of the sites did not begin until the 1930s, when digs were undertaken at Jarlshof and Gurness.

[6] Sometimes referred to as "aisled roundhouses"[6] their characteristic features include an outer wall within which a circle of stone piers (bearing a resemblance to the spokes of a wheel) form the basis for lintel arches supporting corbelled roofing with a hearth at the hub.

[6] The highly restricted nature of their geographical locations suggests that they may have been contained within a political or cultural frontier of some kind.

The co-incidence of their arrival and departure being associated with the period of Roman influence in Scotland is a matter of ongoing debate.