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Skye, Dun Kearstach

Galleried Dun (Prehistoric)

Site Name Skye, Dun Kearstach

Classification Galleried Dun (Prehistoric)

Alternative Name(s) Glen Boreraig

Canmore ID 11430

Site Number NG51NE 3

NGR NG 5964 1745

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/11430

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Highland
  • Parish Strath
  • Former Region Highland
  • Former District Skye And Lochalsh
  • Former County Inverness-shire

Archaeology Notes ( - 1961)

NG51NE 3 5964 1745

(NG 5964 1745) Dun Kearstach (NR)

OS 6" map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1903)

Dun Kearstach, a galleried dun, oval on plan, measuring 67ft in length and 43ft in breadth, has been surrounded by a fine stone wall, varying from 21ft thick at the SE end to 13ft on the N flank, but this is almost levelled to the ground, the debris of the wall covering the slopes on the flanks for a distance of nearly 40ft. Short sections of the lower courses of the outer face of the building are visible round the NE arc and on the SW, but in no place are they more than 1ft 6ins in height. The entrance, very slightly defined, has been through the W end, but it is too dilapidated for measurement. For a distance of about 38ft in the W end of the N wall the remains of a narrow chamber can be traced. The outer wall of this gallery is broken down, but the inner wall, 4ft thick, still reaches a height of 2ft 3ins in places. Part of the W jamb of the doorway of this chamber are still in position some 43ft from the entrance to the dun, and some 21ft further E there are traces of another opening, seemingly to a second gallery in the NE arc, while indications of a third are visible along the S flank.

Not a broch, but embodies features which appear in broch architecture (A Graham 1949).

(RCAHMS 1928; A Graham 1949).

Dun Kearstach: a galleried dun as described by RCAHMS and in ruinous condition. Some 20m W of the entrance across the narrow approach to the fort there are faint indications of a possible outwork comprising a low bank with outer ditch.

Visited by OS (A C) 18 April 1961.

Activities

Field Visit (20 June 1921)

Dun Kearstach, Glen Boreraig.

Near the head of Glen Boreraig, about 2 miles south-east of Torran, on the summit of a ridge lying between Allt a' Ghairuillt and a smaller burn to the south, about ½ mile from, and 400 feet higher than, the eastern shore of Loch Slapin, are the ruins of Dun Kearstach. This dun commands one of the most magnificent prospects in Skye. Looking down the glen to the west, the serrated ridge of Blaven, rising over 3000 feet from the water's edge, backed by the rugged Cuillins with Loch Slapin in the foreground, is seen; to the south is the mountainous island of Rhum, and to the north the lofty cone of Beinn na Caillich. The ridge occupied by the fort runs nearly east and west; it is very steep on the flanks, rising about 35 feet above the general level, and the summit is reached by a gradual ascent from the west. The enceinte, which is oval on plan, measuring 67 feet in length and 43 feet in breadth, has been surrounded by a fine stone wall, varying from 21 feet thick at the south-eastern end to 13 feet on the northern flank, but this is almost levelled to the ground, the debris of the wall covering the slopes on the flanks for a distance of nearly 40 feet. Short sections of the lower courses of the outer face of the building are visible round the north-eastern arc and on the south-west, but in no place are they more than 1 foot 6 inches in height. The entrance, very slightly defined, has been through the western end, but it is too dilapidated for measurement. For a distance of about 38 feet in the western end of the northern wall the remains of a narrow chamber can be traced. The outer wall of this gallery is broken down, but the inner wall, 4 feet thick, still reaches a height of 2 feet 3 inches in places. Part of the western jamb of the doorway of this chamber is still in position some 43 feet from the entrance of the dun, and some 21 feet farther east there are traces of another opening, seemingly to a second gallery in the north-eastern arc, while indications of a third are visible along the southern flank.

RCAHMS 1928, visible 20 June 1921.

OS map: Skye xlvi.

Publication Account (2007)

NG51 2 DUN KEARSTACH

NG/5964 1745

This galleried dun in Strath, Skye, is a medium-sized, oval, stone-walled fort with a good-quality, galleried wall enclosing an area 20.4 x 13.1m (67 x 43 ft). The site stands in Glen Boreraig, on a steep-sided ridge running east-west and rising about 10.7m (35 ft) above the moor around it; there is a gradual ascent approaching from the west. The wall varies from 6.4 - 4.0m (21 - 13 ft) in thickness and the outer face now stands nowhere above 46cm (18in) high; debris from the wall covers the flanking slopes for up to 12m (40 ft) from it. Much of the wall has disappeared. However there are traces of a mural gallery for about l1.6m (38 ft) from the west end of the north wall; the outer face has gone but the inner stands up to 69cm (2 ft 3 in) high. There are traces of two doorways to the interior and of more mural gallery on the south side. There are faint traces of the entrance at the west end.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 51 SE 3: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 208, no. 649 and fig. 292.

E W MacKie 2007

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