Monument record 889 - RUDH'AN DUIN, VALLAY, NORTH UIST

NF77NE 4 7861 7618.

(NF 7861 7618) Dun (OE)
OS &"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)

A 'fort' occupying a small and low-lying point known as Rudh an Duin, towards the east end of Vallay. The thickness of the wall (c. 17ft) and the size of the inner court give the structure a 'broch-like' character. Finds included pottery, hammerstones, a fragment of bronze and fragments of an iron long sword, in addition to kitchen-midden remains. (E Beveridge 1911)
The finds are in the NMAS.(PSAS 1912 and 1922)
E Beveridge 1911; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1912 and 1922.

The remains of this dun are in a good state of preservation, except for the SE segment which has been almost completely destroyed by sea-erosion.
The dun is almost circular, having an overall diameter of 24.5m, the walls varying in thickness from 5.0m to 6.2m. The well-preserved entrance is in the NW and appears to lead to a small natural harbour. The entrance is 1.3m wide, its side walls 1.0m high, and has a paved floor: there were no indications of chambers in these side walls, or of a door-check.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (W D J) 22 June 1965.

Erskine Beveridge, 1911, North Uist: its archaeology and topography, 215-8 plan, illust (Bibliographic reference). SWE12876.

PSAS, 1911-12, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 335-6 (Bibliographic reference). SWE9079.

PSAS, 1921-2, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 15 (Bibliographic reference). SWE9178.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 57, No. 184 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Centre for Field Archaeology, 2005, Coastal Zone Assessment Survey, North Uist (Bibliographic reference). SWE41070.