Description

The monument comprises a dun, a type of fortified settlement, dating from the Iron Age (800 BC – AD 400) to Early Medieval Period (AD 400 –1000). It is visible as a round house, the artificial island on which it sits and a causeway connecting the island to the shore. The monument is located within Loch na Muilne, South Uist. 

The round house is sub circular and measures 9m by 7m internally, within a wall up to 1.5m high with the artificial island approximately 16m north-south by 20m east-west. Pottery found on the loch bed within 7m of the island suggests the the island may have originated as a crannog during the Neolithic period (4100 BC – 2500 BC). The causeway runs east to west, and is a maximum of 40m long and 4m wide. 

The scheduled area is irregular. It includes the island, causeway and an area of the surrounding loch bed, within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a well preserved example of a particularly small island fortification, which by comparison with other such sites, and through excavation, has the potential to contribute to our understanding, both of the construction and function of such sites, and of the contemporary economy of the area.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/9846/

HER/SMR Reference

MWE9846

Source: Historic Environment Scotland