Description

The monument consists of the remains of a dun, a fortified island dwelling of Iron Age or medieval date, togther with the remains of two causeways which formerly linked it to the shore and to another small island.

The island on which the dun stood has been artificially enlarged by the addition of rubble at several points around the water's edge. The dun measures 28.0m E-W by 27.4m overall, and has walls up to 1.7m thick. The interior is heavily overgrown. On the W side of the dun a stretch of boulder-built causeway appears above the water level, and the rest appears to survive, below water level, linking the island with the nearby shore. A second causeway, almost completely submerged and in poor condition, runs N from the dun to a small island nearby. There are no obvious traces of structures on this second island.

The area to be scheduled is irregular on plan, measuring some 125m E- W by a maximum of 60m N-S, to include the two islands and causeways, and an area of the floor of the loch around them, on and in which evidence relating to the construction and use of the dun and causeways may survive, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a late prehistoric or medieval fortified dwelling on an artificially enhanced island with associated causeways. It has the potential, through excavation of the surviving remains both above and below the water, to provide important information about contemporary domestic and defensive architecture and material culture, with particular significance for our understanding of the reasons behind the protracted use of such island sites in the Western Isles.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NG 29 NW 2.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland