A broch is a type of round, stone-walled farmhouse covered with turf to make a smooth hill which is to be found in the ancient Pictish areas of Scotland. The entrance to a broch is by a single door, and they have no shaft connecting them with the outer air such as are found in the howes. Inside are winding low passages leading to several chambers. They are defensive rather than offensive in design. R.W.Feachem, who contributes Chapter 3 to The Problem of the Picts, considers that they were constructed not by the Picts but by the Proto-Picts, the heterogeneous tribes which were finally blended together to produce the Picts of history, that mysterious people who contribute their part to the theories of fairy origins.

These brochs, like other knolls and howes, were often called Fairy knowes and play their part in sustaining the theories of David Mac Ritchie.