Monument record 423 - DUN LOCH AN DUIN, LEWIS

NB53NE 1 5563 3591.
(NB 556 359) Dun (NR) (Site of)
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1898)

A low grassy island, 90ft by 50ft, approached by stepping stones " apparently laid upon a causeway". It is surrounded at the water's edge by a drystone wall "which has been 5ft thick and probably 6ft high, but is now much broken down.
Right opposite to the stepping stones the wall is thickened (as at a, b) to 13ft and was probably raised as much in height, as it is still 9ft high; through which is a narrow passage (e, f) 2 1/2 ft wide and 13ft long and which when perfect was no doubt roofed over at a height of 5ft The east side of the passage is a solid block of rubble masonry about 5ft thick but on the west side at the middle of the passage is an entrance to a guard-cell (g) which would hold 3 or 4 men...it differs in no way from those always present in the circular towers. This cell is now unroofed but its outline can be distinctly traced ; it is of an irregular oval figure and may be roughly stated as 6ft long and 4ft broad."
F W L Thomas 1890.

Described in 1914 as the remains of a roughly circular dun, diameter approx 80ft, connected to the shore by a causeway 100ft long and 6ft broad, consisting only of the tumbled fragments of a stone wall round the circumference of the island.
RCAHMS 1928.

This is now a featureless low mound of boulders, grass-covered except round the waters edge.
Visited by OS (A L F R) assistent archaeology officer, 23 April 1964.

'The monument...comprises the remains of a dun, a fortified settlement of Iron Age date. The area to be scheduled is circular with a maximum diameter of 40m to be centred on the dun.'
HS Scheduling Document 1 December 1992.

Thomas, F. W. L., 1890, Archaeol Scot, 378 plan pl. XLVIII (Bibliographic reference). SWE7756.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 15, No. 50 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.