Monument record 1092 - EILEAN DUBH DUN SCOR, LOCH CARAVAT, NORTH UIST

NF86SW 19 8430 6202.

(NF 8430 6202) Eilean Dubh Dun Scor (NAT)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1903)

The Name Book describes Eilean Dubh Dun Scor as 'a small island in Loch Caravat' but, in the context, this description should be applied to Dun Scor (NF86SW 18). The published names have obviously been transposed since the compilation of the Name Book.
Name Book 1878.

Elean Dubh Dun Scor, an island about 200ft long from NNE to SSW by some 127ft wide, rises to about 12ft above wat er nad has been defended by a wall around its margin between 3 and 5ft high, in part 'considerably thicker than' 2ft 6ins. It is connected by a partly submerged S-shaped causeway to a larger island about 70 yards to the east (the context suggests that this should be 'west') which, in turn, is joined to the northern shore of the loch by a short causeway standing clear of the water, and to the southern shore by a longer causeway submerged for the greater part of its length.
There are three entrnaces to the dun, two near the southern end of the NW flank, the other near the N. end of the SE side. This latter may have been a watergate, as there is a slight excavation inside the wall, extending some 13ft from the outside over a width of 8 to 10ft.
Within the wall, opposite the causeway, there are indeterminate stone foundations hidden by vegetation, and a few feet above the watergate
are indications of further building.
RCAHMS 1928.

This island is as described by the RCAHMS. Only a small shieling-type structure was seen, at the south end of the island. No trace of a dun or remains of one could be seen. There is no trace of a causeway to Dun Scor, but the remains of the other causeways can still be seen.
Visited by OS (W D J) 12 June 1965.

Erskine Beveridge, 1911, North Uist: its archaeology and topography, 180-1 (Bibliographic reference). SWE12876.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 66, No. 208 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Name Book (County), 1998, Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, Book No. 9, 46 (Unpublished document). SWE4254.