Scheduled Monument

Dun Mac Samhainn,dunSM5474

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
09/12/1992
Type
Prehistoric domestic and defensive: dun
Local Authority
Argyll And Bute
Parish
Kilmartin
NGR
NM 82293 00258
Coordinates
182293, 700258

Description

The monument consists of a dun situated on a knoll in a forestry plantation, immediately N of the track from Kilmartin to Ormaig and E of a disused quarry.

The dun is sub-triangular on plan and measures 11m by 9.5m within a stone wall (reduced by robbing to little more than a band of core material about 2.5m thick). A short stretch of the outer face remains in position on the SW. The entrance lay either on the NE or E. A terrace on the NE may have been enclosed by an outwork. In the interior an arc of recent walling abuts the dun wall on the SW.

The area to be scheduled measures 70m from ENE to WSW by 45m transversely, to include the dun, its outwork and an area around in which associated remains may survive, as marked in red on the attached map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has the potential to provide information about the nature and structure of later prehistoric society. Few duns have been excavated in Argyll but evidence increasingly suggests that many were occupied, if not built, during the later first millennium AD, a period about which very little is know but in which the area around Kilmartin must have been very significant, due to the proximity of Dunadd.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NM 80 SW 4.

Reference:

RCAHMS (1988) Inventory for Mid Argyll and Cowal, No. 290.

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 05/11/2026 09:43