Report on the Excavation of Dun Beag, a Broch Near Struan
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I. REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF DUN BEAG, A BROCH NEAR STRUAN, . SKYEJ GRAHA Y B . M CALLANDER, DIRECTO THP O RE NATIONAL MUSEUM. Of the many ancient forts in the island of Skye none is better known than Dun Beag, near Struan (fig. 1). Occupying a conspicuous position little more yardtha0 20 ns fro e roamth d which passes alon e westh g t side of the island, it shows a fair height of a well-preserved wall and so attract e attentio th se traveller th s visitef o n nwa 177I y t b .i 2d e followinth Pennant n i d gr Johnson an ,D yea y b r . Locall sais i t dyi that Sir Walter Scott was taken to the site when he "visited Dunvegan s JournaCastlhi s a 1814n ei t l bu publishe, Lockhart'n i d s Lifef Scotto make referenco n s suco et hvisita , veris i t y improbabl. it w e sa tha e h t Both Pennant and Johnson wrote a short description of the structure, and although their accounts are rather meagre, it is evident that the building was in a ruinous condition one hundred and fifty years ago. I was told b locaya l residenter that much damag buildin e s donth ewa o et g about the middle of the nineteenth century, when the lintels, which until that time still remaine position di n abov entrance eth e passage, were removed. In 1914, Countess Vincent Baillet de Latour, F.S.A. Scot., who had previously excavate n lardharda e brocn th d Du h , near Dunvegan, commence e excavatio th dn Beag Du .f o nDurin e e coursth th g f o e operations (which were only completed last year, 1920) the inner court as well as two small cells, a staircase, and the greater part of a gallery, all withi thicknesn the wallthe , of swer e cleared out; also sectioa , nof the outer face of the wall on the southern arc, which was obscured by fallen stones s laiwa d, baren interestinA . g assortmen f relico t n i s stone, pottery, glass, and metal, was recovered, which have been pre- sented to the National Museum. The thanks of the Society are due to e Countesth s Latou r thifo rs generou e admirablth r y fo s gifd wa e an t in which she has conducted the investigations. About two hundred tons of stones and earth had to be removed, and, as all the soil was sifted throug e fingersth h , extraordinary patienc d perseverancan e e were \ \ REPORE EXCAVATIOTH N BEAGN TO DU .F NO m required to complete the work. Previous to the excavation the inner court of the broch contained from 4 feet to 6 feet of stones and earth, cello tw s e werth ed practicallan y ful f similao l r debrisstaie d th ran f o ; gallery there wer indicationso en thes ,a y were completely covered with fallen material. Dun Beag is built on the northern end of one of the small rocky eminences whic seee har sucn ni h profusio north-westere th n ni n portions of Skye, and which furnish ideal sites for the numerous defensive Fig. 1. View of Dun Beag: from the north-west. structures occurrin n thesi g e partsn elevatio a t I lie t .a s f somo n e 200 feet above sea-level, about 400 yards east of the milestone set up 11| miles from Dunvega yard0 50 s d north-wesan n e schooth f t a o lt Struan, on the hill-side facing the mouth of Loch Bracadale. It commands a magnificent view of this loch with its islands and deeply penetrating arms; on the south beyond a wide expanse of moorland rise the Red Hills, e beautifuBlaventh d an , l rugged e Cuillinsrangth e f th o e o t ; north-wes seee flat-toppee ar tn th d summit f HealavaHeald o s an r - Mo l aval Beg r Macleod'o , s Table s the a se frequentlyar y called, e whilth n eo distant horizon across the Minch the southern islands of the Outer Hebrides appea e nortsightn i rth d eas swellins ho an i t ;t g moorland. Some 470 yards to the north, at a higher elevation, on the summit of rocky plateau, is another fort, Dun Mhor, and on the low ground, some 700 yards to the west-south-west, at Knock Ullinish, is a ruined earth- 2 PROCEEDING11 E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBRUAR , 1921.Y14 - house. Immediatel north-ease th foundatione o yt th e housee ar t th f so s croftd e vicinitid ol nth an ,n o a f y extensive stretche f tumbleso d dry- stone dykes mark the boundaries of old stock enclosures. Accese brocth s o obtainehi st d fro e southermth n extensioe th f no platea whicn uo t hstandsi r morfo s ea , than hal s circumferenceit f n o , 10 20 30 4OFEET PigBeagn . PlaDu .2 f .no the northern side, the wall is built quite near to the rocky edge, which generally is no more than 4 feet distant; the height of the part of the plateati occupie broce th y hdb varie s from aboue easth o fee t t0 n 1 to t over 20 feet on the west. The doorway faces slightly south of east and is placed just where the wall curves inwards from the edge of the plateau, positioa n which mad t mostei difficul attacf o t practicalld kan y invulner- lengta r able f abotiFo ho e north-eas .yard 5 th 1 t n o s outee th t r face of the wall has been torn down, but round the north and north-west it exhibit finsa e stretc f drystono h e building still feed 0 risin1 an t o t g 12 fee heightn i t e wes lengts A collapse th fee 9 .ha t n r f o hto fa s da REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF DUN BEAG. 113 lowese asth t course t roun bu , e southerdth n cui've th es a almos r fa s a t entrance it is from 3 feet to 5 feet high. As is usual in broch building, wale th l shows distinca t exteriore batteth coursee n o r Th . buildinf so g on the northern arc are built with the greatest regularity and average about 1 foot in height, but on the south side larger blocks measuring up to 22 inches in height have been used. The inner face of the wall has Fig. 3. Entrance, from the interior. been greatly despoiled thougd an , coree hth , which contain gallere sth y walls, rises generall heigha o yt f abouo t fee9 t t abov foundatioe th e n inside, only three courses showin northe gheigha th fee d 3 n f o ,an t o t four courses rising 1 foot higher on the south, remain in position. The inner broc e courth f hto form perfecsa t circle croso ,tw s diameters measurin e greate th fee5 g3 r t fo reach s are d it pare floo f an th a, o tr consists of an irregular rocky outcrop. At the level of the floor the thicknes wale th lf o sincludin e internagth l gallery varies from about 12 fee abouo t t fee3 1 tinche 8 t s (fig. 2) . e entrancTh e passage (fig, whic3 fee 3) 1 n .lengthi ts i h s muci , h VOL. LV. 8 114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 14, 1921. dilapidated: on the north side its remaining height varies from 3 feet at the inner end to 1 foot 6 inches at the outside; on the south side for more than half its length nearest the interior it rises to a height of 5 feet 7 inches, but the outer jamb has been entirely removed. At the outside e passagth fee3 distanca s tei t widea fee t 4 inchef 5 tebu ,o s inwarde sar Fig. 4. Entrance to Domical Cell. checks on either side, 7 inches and 8 inches deep, increasing the width to 4 fee inches3 t . From this par t gradualli t y decrease widtn si h towards the inner end, where it measures 3 feet wide—the same as the outside. The passage is carefully paved throughout, there being a large slab at entrancee th . Althoug probabls i t hi e tha dooe tth r consiste larga f do e slab, there are no signs of bar-holes behind the checks. Turnin e righ th enteringn o o tgt a distanc t a fee,3 f to e froe mth entrance, on the level of the floor, is a low, lintelled opening 2 feet 4 inches in height and 1 foot 6 inches in breadth (fig. 4), leading through a passage fee,2 inche6 t lengthn si , int odomicaa l cell withi wale nth l REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF DUN BEAG. 115 measurin e feefloor6 ge wall th inche6 Th tfee6 f thin o . s o y ts b s chamber, which are reduced to a height of 3 feet on the south-east side and 6 feet on the north-west, converge towards the roof, and the floor passagwele s a thath s a lf o t e leading paves inti t oi d with slabs.