Monument record 438 - CAISTEAL A'MHORAIR, TRAIGH GEIRAHA, NORTH TOLSTA, LEWIS

NB54NW 1 5366 4970.

(NB 537 496) Caisteal a' Mhorair (NAT)
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1898)

There is a dun on Caisteal a' Mhorair. This is a pinnacle of rock rising some 70ft above the sand on the S side of Traigh Geiraha.
The flat, oval summit, measuring some 60ft from ESE to WNW by about 24ft, is encircled by a wall now 4 to 6ft wide and 1 1/2ft high. The greater part, towards the NW, "is occupied by a roughly rectangular chamber 32ft long and 14ft broad, entered 11ft from the NW end by a passage in the SW flank 2ft 9ins broad and walled for a length of 14ft. Access to this entrance is obtained by climbing a dangerously steep rib of rock opposite it, the cliff otherwise being unclimbable.
Opening from the SE end of the main chamber through a passage about 2ft wide and 4ft long is a smaller chamber lying transversely across the summit, 10 1/2ft long and 7ft broad. Between this latter division and the SE extremity of the summit, which contracts to a width of about 15ft, is a circular stone lined hollow 5ft in diameter and 1 1/2ft deep. A quernstone and fragments of rough hand-made pottery have been found here."
RCAHMS 1928, visited 3 July 1914.

Caisteal a' Mhorair is a substantial building divided into two compartments and generally as described by the RCAHMS, except that it does not encircle the summit of the rock stack on which it is situated. It is probably a medieval stronghold or 'late dun', examples of which occur in North and South Uist (cf RCAHMS 1928 xxxv, xl).
Surveyed at 1/10,000.
Visited by OS (A A) 14 June 1969.

'The monument...comprises of a dun situated on top of a rock stack known as Caisteal a'Mhorair. The grass covered rock pinnacle supporting the fortification rises approximately 20m above the sand on the S side of Traigh Geiraha. The flat oval summit (about 18m ESE-WNW by 7m) is surrounded by a wall c. 1.5m wide and 0.4m high. A large part of the summit is occupied by the foundations of a rectangular building which measures 9.75m long by 4.27m wide. There is a second chamber (3.2m long by 2.1m broad) connected to the SE end of the main structure by a short passageway. Between this smaller chamber and the SE extremity of the summit is a stone lined hollow 1.5m in diameter and 0.46m deep. Access to the summit is obtained by climbing a ridge of rock between the stack and the mainland cliff-face. The area to be scheduled is oval and measures a maximum of 30m NW-SE by 20m SW-NE, consisting of the entire rock stack known as Caisteal a'Mhorair.'
HS Sceduling Document 20 January 1992.

The site appears to be stable with very little evidence of erosion.
Structure A
Structure A is the largest enclosure at the top of the stack. It is sub rectangular, orientated north-south, and its western wall is set c. 0.5m away from the perimeter of the stack. Its eastern wall stands on the eastern edge of the stack.It measures c. 9.5 x 4m internally, with worked stone walls 1-1.5m thick. It is entered from the access route by a narrow, west-facing door c.0.8m wide, and another opening, c. 0.5m wide is present in the north-eastern corner of the building.
Structure B
Structure B adjoins structure A via an enterance in the southern wall of structure A. It is a rectilinear room, c.3 x 2m internally, with no obvious openings in its walls other than the entrance. It is similarly constructed of worked stone.
Structure C
Structure C adjoins structure B, to the south. There is no obvious entrance. C is much less well constructed than either A or B, and consists of circular rubble stone wall, possibly with a mixture of turf, and an internal diameter of c.1m. It fully occupies the southern end of the stack. Surviving width of the walls varies between one and two meters.
Barrowman et al 2003 p32 - 35

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 14, No. 48 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Burgess, Christopher & Church, Michael, 1997, Coastal Erosion Assessment, Lewis. A Report for Historic Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41000.

C. Barrowman, I. McHardy, M. MacLeod, 2003, Severe Terrain Archaeological Campaign (STAC)Project 2.1. Seirbhis Arc-eolais nan Eilean Siar, Stornoway. (Bibliographic reference). SWE41052. (Bibliographic reference). SWE41052.