WORK has begun on a Lego model of an Iron Age roundhouse commissioned by the Caithness Broch Project to help educate schoolchildren during the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.

The project team were so impressed by previous models created by Scottish firm Brick to the Past, which specialises in creating detailed and meticulously researched historically themed Lego models, that they asked them to make a Lego broch.

The finished creation will be taken around schools and put on display in Caithness Horizons Museum as part of their bid to build a world heritage broch and visitor centre.

The Caithness Broch Project, backed by The National as media partner, needs about £1 million of funding to recreate a 13m-high drystone tower with replica furniture, such as stone beds lined with moss, a tourist centre and a neighbouring workshop where visitors will learn how the broch was created.

Caithness has more than 180 brochs, more than anywhere else in Scotland, but most of them have been left to crumble and only remnants remain.

Brochs are Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structures of a type found only in Scotland and mostly in Caithness, Sutherland and the Northern Isles.

Before starting the Lego broch, lead model builder Dan Harris carried out research into the structures and visited the project, where the team took him on a tour of brochs in the area.

Now Harris, from Grantown-on-Spey in Invernesshire, has started building the walls of the minifigure scale Lego broch, with plans to have the model complete by May next year.

Kenneth McElroy, chairman of the Caithness Broch Project, said: “I think we’ve wanted to use Lego for the broch project as long as I can remember – it’s just such a fantastic medium, and it has the enviable ability to fascinate children and adults alike – so I always thought it was a great way to engage with the public about our project.

“The question was – could anyone build what’s essentially a rounded building with these square bricks?

“Luckily I stumbled upon Brick to the Past after seeing their incredible Lego reconstruction of a portion of Hadrian’s Wall.

“It’s a huge diorama, but it still has so much attention to detail – I knew this was the team to speak to.

“We’ve already met with Dan Harris from Brick to the Past and took him on a wee tour of some Caithness brochs. Dan and James, the other gentleman involved in this construction, are so enthusiastic and willing to learn about brochs, and we’re really excited to see the finished product.”

Harris said he was delighted to be involved in building the Lego broch, which will be used to tell local children about the history of brochs and other aspects of Iron Age life.

He has already produced instructions for a micro-broch online through the Dig Adventures website so people can build their own broch, and they hope to produce packs of mini Lego brochs next year.

Harris said: “So far we have produced instructions for a micro-broch which people can build themselves and I’ve started the model for the project.

“It is only four walls at the moment, there is not a whole lot to look at just now but once you get into the process it actually goes up fairly quickly. The Lego broch will be about 40cm high based on a typical 10-metre high broch, and the diameter will be something similar.

"The Caithness Broch Project is an excellent project and it is great the way it has been set up by a local group of people getting together who share the enthusiasm and knowledge for the subject and are able to try to get to its overall aim of building a full-size replica broch in Caithness.

“We were really excited to be given the opportunity to get involved with this. The subject matter is fascinating and it wasn’t something we knew very much about until we were approached by Ken and his team, so it has been an exciting process and we have learned an amazing amount.”

If you fancy making your own Lego broch, the instructions are available at bit.ly/LegoBroch

SPECIAL OFFER

THE National is offering new and existing members of the Caithness Broch Project an exclusive discounted deal of 10 per cent off 12-month digital subscriptions as part of our commitment as media partner. What’s more, members who sign up for a year’s subscription will get a free 12-month Open Fairways golf card.

To claim your discounted subscription and golf card, call us on 0141 302 7733, making sure you quote the Caithness Broch Project. Becoming a member of the Caithness Broch Project couldn’t be easier. Just go to www.thebrochproject.co.uk.