Monument record 778 - EILEAN IAIN, BENBECULA

NF75SE 6 7889 5351.

(NF 7889 5351)Dun (NR) (Site of)
OS 6'map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1903)

A small island, Eilean Iain, is occupied by the remains of a dun. A wall, standing in places to 4ft, surrounds the island at water level. A probable causeway (only a few stones were seen in 1915 above the water) connects the dun to a promontory 80 yards. south-east. The foundations of a small suboval building, 8ft NW/SE by 7ft NE/SW internally, lie on the bank of the loch just where the causeway would reach the shore. RCAHMS 1928.

The remains of a dun as described by RCAHMS. Within the surrounding wall there are the remains of three boat-shaped buildings which have walls 1.3metres thick by 1.2.metres high. The westmost building has an out-building (? modern) constructed on its N side. There are now only slight traces of the causeway, but there is a very distinct harbour at the west end of the island, where there is a break in the wall.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (R D) 18 May 1965.

The monument known as Eilean Iain, dun, Loch Eilean Iain, Benbecula comprises of an Iron Age fortified site, or dun, set on an islet. The dun is oval on plan, 16m E to W by 13m N to S, over a wall 2m thick which stands up to 1.2m high. There is a small boat landing on the W side of the islet, where there is a break in the wall, probably the original entrance. Inside the dun are the remains of 3 substantial boat-shaped buildings, with walls 1.3m thick and up to 1.2m high. These probably post-date the dun, as does a smaller building to the W. of the westermost example. Only very slight traces survive of a causeqay which once connected the islet with the shore to the SE.
Entry in the Schedule of Monuments, HS

The island was inaccessible when visited by the Monuments Warden, D. A. C. Murdie, in 1999. MML 25.1.2000

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 101-2, No. 348 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.