Monument record 418 - DUN AIRNISTEAN, LEWIS

NB46SE 6 4886 6266.

(NB 4886 6266) Dun Airnistean (NR)
OS 6"map, (1964)

Dun Airnistean: The ruin of what is supposed to have been an old castle, on a small island on the coast at Airnistean. There is no part of it visible at present, except about half a dozen large stones in its foundation.
Name Book 1852.

Dun Airnistenn (F W L Thomas 1890) or Dun Airnisteann (RCAHMS 1928), said to have been a circular tower.(F W L Thomas 1890)
Listed as a site (RCAHMS 1928)

Dun Airnistean is a conical stack, of difficult access, on which there is now no trace of walling. The tradition and name are still known locally, but it is not certain if it was ever a fortification.
Visited by OS (N K B) 15 June 1969.

NB 4884 6266 Dun Arnistean is a small, intertidal sea stack near Cross, Ness. The scant foundations of a small rectangular building lie in the lee of a rock outcrop which forms the summit of the stack. This building was partially excavated in 1970 and periodically in the early 1980s by the late Professor Murray Campbell, and several hightly decorated Iron Age pottery sherds were recovered. Miscellaneous stone tools and pot lids were also recorded. The excavation trench from 1970 is still visible and was surveyed.
Numerous sections of walling and masonry are now exposed as a consequence of natural weathering, although it is difficult to interpret the exact shape of any structures. Approximately 80 further sherds of pottery, around 10 pebble tools (including small hammerstones and rubbers), two chips of flint, and several pieces of animal bone were recovered and surveyed in situ. This material was scattered across the whole site as the erosion is so extensive.
A fragment of rotary quern made from Lewisian Gneiss, found from Dun Arnistean a few years ago by local archaeologists, is currently in private hands in Lewis. This has been photographed and measured.
Sponsor: HS, Russell Trust, Museum nan Eilean Siar, Comunn Eachdraidh Nis
Barrowman 2004, 133-4

Considerable quantities of Iron Age pottery found during the summer of 1970, together with traces of walling exposed by howking. Some of the pottery sherds are in the NMAS, and in the possession of Dr Campbell, the finder. (M Campbell, Dept of Chemistry, Heriot-Watt University) Information from A S Henshall 15 June 1969.

More good IA pottery from this site given to NMAS, August 1971. Information from J Close-Brooks (NMAS).

Walls and eroding midden material including complete pot, and decorated pottery held by D Vaughan.
D Vaughan and M Ponting 1983.

The scant foundations of a possible small recangular building lie in the lee of a rock outcrop which forms the summit of the stack. This area was partiarlly excavated in 1970 and periodically in the early 1980s by the late Professor Murray Campbell, and several highly decorated Iron Age pottery sherds were recovered. Approximately 35 sherds were donated to the NMS, and some others to the Comunn Eachdraidh Nis. Miscellaneous stone tools and pot lids were also recorded. The excavation trench from 1970 is still visible. Numerous sections of walling and masonry are now exposed as a consequence of natural weathering, although it is difficult to interpret the exact shapeof any structures. Approximately 80 further sherds of porrery, several pebble tools (includeing small hammer stones and rubbers), two chips of flint, and several pieces of animal bone were recovered and surveyed in situ. This material lies in a series of bands across the site in relation to eroding sections.
The Survey
As mentioned above, the southern area of the stack is mainly grassed over. A level plateau sits below the the rock outcrop on the centre of the site (measuring c. 9m by 6m), and grassy slopes fall away from the southwest, south and south-east of this for approximately 5m before they level out slightly, and then fall away more steeply to a bare, vertical cliff-face. A small rectangular structure is built against the vertical face of a rock outcrop in the centre of the stack. This building measures c. 5m - 2m internally, and c. 7m by 3m externally. The rock face measures c. 6m at longest and 2.5m high. The possible turfed over footings exist of two lengths of wall, one running parallel to the vertical face of the rock outcrop and making up the longest side, and one to the east which abuts the rock face to the north, and joins the side wall to the south, forming the end. No stonework is visible within this feature, although the internal faces of the walls described above are eroding (discusses further below). A shallow 'spade-hole' measuring 0.3m by 0.3m by 0.3m lies in the northwest corner of the structure.
There is another short section of turfed over wall standing to no more than 0.3m to the southwest of this building, and may represent a separate room. Halfway down the southeastern slope, there are three large boulders sitting on a level contour approximately 5m below the water plateau. Scant turf footings of a small section of wall lie c.1m to the east of these. This feature falls in line with the most obvious landward access route to the main part of the site.
The remainder of the archaeology is represented by a series of short and exposed lengths of walling, and scatters of artefacts, all eroding from sections to the southwest of the main building
Barrowman and McHardy 2005, p13 - 27

Thomas, F. W. L., 1890, Archaeol Scot, 373 (Bibliographic reference). SWE7756.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 10, No. 33 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

PSAS, 1970-1a, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 242 (Bibliographic reference). SWE7635.

PSAS, 1971-2b, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 316 (Bibliographic reference). SWE10827.

D and M Vaughan and Ponting, 1983, Discovery and Excavation, Scotland, 40 (Bibliographic reference). SWE14607.

Name Book (County), 1998, Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, ook No. 3, 14 (Unpublished document). SWE4254.

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2004, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41193.

Chris Barrowman & Ian McHardy, 2005, STAC Severe Terrain Archaeological Campaign, Isle of Lewis 2004 (Unpublished document). SWE41102.