The fort was probably built around 300 BC, the generally accepted date of most similar fortifications in the region.
It resembles other fortifications such as the Crosskirk Broch, the blockhouse in front of the Broch of Clickimin and the Ness of Burgi fort at Scatness.Шаблон:Sfn
Presumably these were built by culturally-related people.Шаблон:Sfn There are also similarities with stone forts in western Ireland, such as the Dunbeg Fort in County Kerry.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn
This ring fort and blockhouse existed before the other two forts in Whalsay, brochs that were built just before the 1st century AD started.Шаблон:Sfn
Huxter was standing until the 19th century.Шаблон:Sfn When described in 1879, the fort was much less dilapidated than today.Шаблон:Sfn
Entry to the fort enclosure was across the causeway, then through a passageway with rooms on either side and with a doorway in the center.Шаблон:Sfn The entrance section is part of the main wall.Шаблон:Sfn
This is similar to the blockhouse at Clickhimin. The passage is just Шаблон:Convert wide at its opening, and Шаблон:Convert at its inner end.Шаблон:Sfn It has been conjectured that there may have been a two-story timber building built against the inner face of the fort. There is little structural evidence for this today.Шаблон:Sfn However, early accounts of the fort indicate that this may have been the case, and other forts show traces of what may have been internal stairways.Шаблон:Sfn
A ring wall runs around the islet, with a two-room blockhouse forming the defense opposite the causeway.Шаблон:Sfn The ring wall seems to have been built separately from the main structure.Шаблон:Sfn The blockhouse forms part of the ringwork, but is not bonded into the ring wall.Шаблон:Sfn The weaknesses in the defense of this and related structures could be explained by additional defenses of wood and thorn branches that have disappeared without leaving any trace. Another possibility is that the defenses were mainly symbolic, and perhaps played a part in warfare that was conducted according to formal rituals.Шаблон:Sfn
