Monument record 453 - DUN OTHAIL, LEWIS

NB55SW 1 542 515.

(NB 542 515) Duin Othail (NAT)
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1898)

Name collected as Dun Othail, with alternative form Druin Odhil.
"A large and prominent rock almost perpendicular... At the SE base of this rock above the level of the sea is the ruins of a house said to have been erected and inhabited by an outlaw..."
(There are 3 ruins one above the other at different levels).
Name Book 1852.

'Dun-owle', listed as a 'natural Fort'.
M Martin 1934.

Dun Othail is only accessible from the land on the SE side and there it is defended by a wall. Mr Macphail states that, although there is no defensive masonry upon the rock a single person could defend the path. An oblong ruin upon its extreme point is supposed to have been a chapel.
F W L Thomas 1890.

Duin Othail - site: "Viewed from the precipice, 150ft high, which overlooks it by, say, 20ft, it does not show a vestige of building". RCAHMS 1928, visited 3 July 1914.

The foundations of a chapel, 17ft long by 11 ft wide internally, can be seen on a narrow shelf in the face of a high precipice under Dun Othail. The walls, unmortared, are 4ft thick, and include remains of a south doorway.
D MacGibbon and T Ross 1896-7

The majority of the summit of Dun Othail is visible from nearby knolls, and presents no sign of artificial construction from this distance.
On the seaward side, at NB 5422 5151, and in a secluded position difficult of access, is the alleged chapel. As described by D MacGibbon and T Ross (1896-7) it is oriented NNE-SSW and is defined by turf-covered footings c. 0.5m high, measuring 5.0m by 3.0m internally. The entrance is near the N end of the SE wall. There is nothing to support its classification as a chapel.
Visited by OS (A A) 13 June 1969.

A single unroofed building, which may be that referred to as a chapel is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Island of Lewis Ross-shire 1853, sheet 6), but it is not shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1973).
Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 15 January 1996.

'The monument...comprises the footings of a small drystone building of early Medieval date situated on a naturally well defended rock stack which is split from the mainland by a ravine. The area to be scheduled is irregular and measures a maximum of 60m SW-NE by 45m transversely to include the defensive site and an area outwith it which may contain evidence of occupation.'
HS Scheduling Document 1 December 1992.

A second season of fieldwork was carried out during the summer of 2004, building on work undertaken the previous year by the Severe Terrain Archaeological Campaign (STAC project).
Four stack sites were visited using rope access techniques. A full topographic and archaeological survey was conducted for all four sites.
NB 542 515 This stack does not have any structures on its summit, but there is a series of structures on the lower grassy slopes to the E of the dun. The turfed-over footings of a perimeter wall enclose a series of terraces over an area of approximately 20 x 20m on the lowest slopes of the eastern part of the dun. This wall abuts a near-vertical cliff face at its W end, and an entrance is positioned about 2m to the E of this. The wall then continues to the E, along the top of a cliff face; it is heavily revetted at this point, presumably to support it where the cliff has no proper edge. Two small fragments of undiagnostic pottery were recovered from amongst the revetting stones.
The area within the confines of the perimeter wall is also enclosed naturally to the N, E and S by steep drops to the sea, and a steep grass-covered hill slopes upwards to the summit of Dun Othail to the W. There are turf-covered walls of two buildings on the lower terrace; the first has two rooms measuring 4 x 2m and 3 x 2m respectively, and is built into the perimeter wall. The second building lies 2m to the NW, by the lee of a rock outcrop, and measures 6 x 3m. A natural access ramp leads to the top of this outcrop, and traces of revetted walling are visible to the N. This revetting maintains a narrow path, which is cut into the steep slope at the base of the stack, and leads to a third small rectangular building, measuring 5 x 3m.
A possible fourth building sits on a higher terrace, access to which is gained by climbing relatively steeply between large boulders and rock outcrops. This terrace measures only 2 x 2m. Above this elevation the walls of the stack grow steeper and progress is impossible without the aid of ropes. There are no further terraces or structures.
Sponsors: HS, Russell Trust, Museum nan Eilean Siar, Comunn Eachdraidh Nis.
C Barrowman 2004, 133-4

This chapel site was included in a research project to identify the chapel sites of Lewis and surrounding islands. The Lewis Coastal Chapel-sites survey recorded 37 such sites. A topographic EDM survey was carried out as part of the survey.
R Barrowman 2005


On the seaward side of the pinnacle at least, structures cling to a series of small ledges, and appear to be protected by a defensive wall.
The STAC project focussed upon making a topgraphic survey of the whole site including unexplored terraces on thepinnacle and the summit plateau. In addition to 5 structures already known and described in the NMRS, we found one further structure on a higher ledge. The remains of a wall roughly 400mm thick could be discerned tracing the edge of a small terrace, 15m x 5m, some 30m above the highest part of the main terrace. The summit plateau had no extant remains but was also surveyed.
McHardy 2006, 9-10

Martin Martin, 1695a, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland c. 1695, 8 (see 2nd ed., 1716) (Bibliographic reference). SWE5082.

Thomas, F. W. L., 1890, Archaeol Scot, 370-2 (Bibliographic reference). SWE7756.

D & T MacGibbon & Ross, 1896, The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian Times to the17th Century, Vol. 1, 81 (Bibliographic reference). SWE4321.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 11, No. 35 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

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

Name Book (County), 1998, Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, Book No. 10B, 12 (Unpublished document). SWE4254.

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

Ian McHardy, 2006, The STAC project, 2005: Data structure report (Unpublished document). SWE41145.