Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Dun Beag

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Location
  
Skye

Periods
  
Iron Age

Public access
  
Yes

Type
  
Broch

Ownership
  
Historic Scotland

Owner
  
Historic Scotland

Dun Beag

Similar
  
Dun Mor Vaul, Dun Fiadhairt, Dun Borrafiach, Dun Dornaigil, Dun Carloway

Peatbog faeries dun beag


Dun Beag is an iron-age broch located about 1 kilometre northwest of the village of Struan on the west coast of the island of Skye, in Scotland.

Contents

Peatbog faeries dun beag wickham festival 2011


Description

Dun Beag (grid reference NG339386) is situated at the north end of a small rocky knoll. The broch consists of a drystone tower with a diameter of around 18.6 metres with walls about 4 metres thick at the base. The broch currently stands to a maximum height of 2 metres.

The interior has a diameter of about 11 metres, and the entrance is on the east side. Internally three openings are visible in the broch wall. One leads to a small chamber; a second leads to a long narrow gallery within the wall; and a third leads to the stone stair of which some twenty steps survive.

History

The broch was visited by Thomas Pennant in 1772, and it was still a substantial structure, with a height of perhaps 4 metres. The following year a broch near Ullinish, which was probably Dun Beag, was visited by Samuel Johnson and James Boswell during their Tour to the Hebrides. Around half of its wall height has been lost since the 18th century.

The broch was excavated by the Countess Vincent Baillet de Latour between 1914 and 1920. Some 200 tons of earth and stones were removed from the broch and all the soil was sifted through the excavators' fingers. The standard of recording and publication was poor. Finds included many stone implements and utensils, a gold ring, bronze objects, a piece of folded sheet lead, iron and glass objects, a borer of bone, a pick made from an antler, much pottery and a stone cup. Several hundred glass beads were found although they are not thought to be prehistoric. Coins of Henry II, Edward I, James VI, George II and George III have been discovered, and it is possible that the broch was in use until comparatively recently.

References

Dun Beag Wikipedia


Similar Topics