Description

The monument comprises the remains of a fortified settlement on a craggy knoll on the hillside below Eigg's eastern cliffs.

The fort has been created by the construction of a drystone wall to supplement the natural rock scarps which defend much of the perimeter of the knoll. The wall is best developed on the S side, where a rocky terrace is edged by a wall some 2.5m wide, faced with large stones externally, which forms an L-plan to enclose the more level ground. What may be the tumbled remains of an entranceway appear about halfway along the longer, SW-NE, stretch of wall. Traces of this wall, much scattered, also occur on the E side of the knoll, where it hardly seems defensively necessary. There is no sign of artificial internal features. At the foot of the knoll, a few small shelters of boulders have been constructed on the rock-strewn hillside. These are probably later, perhaps lambing shelters.

The monument is in an area of Eigg which is rather inaccessible by land, but would be readily approached by sea, and it commands extensive seaward views to the E. The site is overlooked by the high cliffs of the NE coast of Eigg, the top of which lies about 170m W of the top of the knoll of Corragan Mor. Corragan Mor is in the same general area as the puzzling underground structure at Struidh (scheduled separately) but does not overlook it.

The area to be scheduled is circular, 70m in diameter, to include the whole of the knoll on which the fort stands and an area around it. This area is marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as an example of a small fortified site in an improbable location. It has the potential to provide information about late prehistoric defensive settlement at the extremes of geographical and economic viability.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

The monument is recorded by RCAHMS as NM48SE 56.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland