Dramatic 2,000-year-old Iron Age fort on Scottish island given national monument status

A spectacular ancient “dun” on Scotland’s west coast has been recognised for its cultural significance.

Kraiknish Dun, on the Isle of Skye, has been designated as a scheduled monument of national importance.

The status for the dun - otherwise called a fort - comes after a recent assessment by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

Kraiknish Dun, a spectacular ancient dun or fort, has been recognised for its cultural significance. | FLS

Sitting on a remote, rocky coastal outcrop overlooking Loch Eynort, just north of Glenbrittle on the west of the island, the unusual double-walled fort is around 2,000 years old. The huge drystone walls measure more than 3m thick in places.

A statement on the HES website reads: “The monument [Kraiknish Dun] is of national importance because it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the past as a possible multi-phase Iron Age defended site.

“In particular, it adds to our understanding of later prehistoric society in Scotland and the function, use and development of coastal duns and other defended sites.”

The huge drystone walls of Kraiknish Dun are more than three metres thick in places. | FLS

The bid for giving the site national status was put forward by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), the Scottish Government agency responsible for managing the country’s national forests and land, when it was surveying the site using laser scanning.

FLS archaeologist Matt Ritchie said: “The scheduling of Kraiknish Dun is recognition of not only its cultural significance, but also the hard work of FLS staff and partners in undertaking a thorough archaeological record of the site.

“Archaeological investigation is an important activity on the land we manage. By furthering our knowledge of the many archaeological sites, historic structures and cultural landscapes in our care, we can understand how best to protect, conserve and present them.

“We use an array of survey techniques, including low altitude aerial photography and state-of-the-art laser scanning technology, to create amazingly detailed records. These can then be combined with traditional methods of excavation, conservation management and artistic reconstruction drawings.”

Kraiknish Dun is not the only important Iron Age site on Skye forming part of the review. FLS is also looking to secure scheduling for a ruined souterrain – an underground stone-lined cellar – and a promontory fort overlooking the Sound of Sleat.

Rubha Guail fort is another Iron Age structure being reviewed by FLS for proposed heritage status. | FLS

Mr Ritchie said: “The west coast of Scotland is home to some of Europe’s best-preserved Celtic architecture. Our stone-built brochs and duns are part of an Iron Age settlement pattern of defended homesteads that both protected their occupants and demonstrated land ownership and tenure.

An aerial view of Skiag Souterrain with its underground stone-lined cellar is another example of an Iron Age structure on FLS land. | FLS

“They were usually built in places with good agricultural land, with relatively productive soils and sheltered conditions. The people who built them were productive and self-sufficient farmers, growing barley and rearing cattle and sheep.

“We are proud to look after several remarkable examples of these important aspects of our shared cultural heritage – and to protect, conserve and present them for the enjoyment and benefit of current and future generations.”

HES said Kraiknish Dun, a relatively small, defended settlement, characterises much of the coastal settlement of the western seaboard and islands of Scotland in later prehistory.

This example is one of 61 duns and possible duns on Skye recorded on the National Record of the Historic Environment.