Monument record 1440 - BIRUASLUM, VATERSAY

NL69NW 4 6107 9633.

(NL 6107 9633) A dun is situated on the small island of Biruaslum off the west coast of Vatersay. It is situated above a flat shelf, itself above the rocky gorge which separates the two islands, and "is a strong stone wall, the ends of which rest on the rocky shore about 100 yards apart, and which curves up for about 50 yards from the base of the hill. Viewed from the shore the outer face of the wall, that is on the concave and lower side, stands about 3 feet high, and it seems to be about 9 feet thick. On the north-western curve several bluffs of rock interpose, and the wall is discontinued at these places".
RCAHMS 1928.

This promontory fort is generally as described by RCAHMS.
It is best preserved at the south east end where the wall is 3.0m thick and 2.0m high. Attached to the uphill side of the wall at the south east angle are the remains of a small oval structure 5.5m long and 3.4m wide. Visited by OS (W D J) 18 May 1965.

12 Biruaslum (BM7)
An impressive wall approximately 100m long running in an arc from the southern cliff edge towards the eastern edge of the island north of the sea dyke. The wall stands to a height of 3m and is 2m wide. At the highest point of its line across the hillside there appears to be an original entrance about 2.5m wide. The wall runs to an area of large rock outcrops which continue its curving line, but it does not appear to continue beyond the rock to meet the cliff on the east side (pace RCAHMS). Although it si possible that it has been completely robbed out here, there is no structure on the island which would appear to have been built with its rather regular blocks of stone. The huts at BM6 (SMR no. 8587) not only appear to be built of different material but are also much closer to the wouth-west end of the wall, which would have provided a nearer source of building stone. We conclude therefore that this wall, surely too massive to have been built for any reason other than defence, was never completed. Its closes parallels seem to be cliff-forts such as Cahercommaun, Co. Clare, and Dun Aongusa, Galway, dated broadly to the first millenium AD. Cultural material recovered from a midden (BM8, SMR no. 8588) within the area enclosed by the wall is neolithic. A final decision on the dating of this monumental structure should perhaps be deferred.
Brannigan & Grattan, 37

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 133-4, No. 451 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Keith Branigan & John Grattan, 1998, Coastal Assessment Survey Barra and Vatersay (Bibliographic reference). SWE41024.