Scheduled Monument
Dun Nighean Righ Lochlainn, dun, Loch an DuinSM5854
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
- 16/12/1993
- Last Date Amended
- 07/07/2026
- Type
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: broch; dun
- Local Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Planning Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Parish
- North Uist
- NGR
- NF 95320 72380
- Coordinates
- 95320, 872380
Description
The monument is an island dun, comprising a partially or wholly artificial island occupied by a complex and substantial stone-built roundhouse, dating to the Iron Age (800BC-400AD), and linked to the loch shore by a causeway. The monument is located within Loch an Duin, North Uist, at about 10m above sea level.
The roundhouse occupies almost all of a small sub-circular island. The island, which is either partially or wholly artificial, measures about 11m in diameter and is located near the northern shore of Loch an Duin. The roundhouse is sub-circular in plan and measures about 10m in diameter. The wall is about 1.1m wide and stands to about 2m in height. There are three upright stones on the wall head, to the north, west and east. The causeway runs from northeast to southwest. It is about 32m long and up to about 2m wide and built of stone. Due to a rise in the water level within the loch, it is now almost fully submerged.
The scheduled area is irregular. It includes the remains described above and an area around within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.
Statement of National Importance
The monument is of national importance as it makes a significant contribution to our understanding or appreciation of the past as a well-preserved island dun with a causeway. It has potential to contribute to our understanding of the construction and function of island structures during prehistory. The stone roundhouse, which is broch-like in form, retains a good deal of its original structural features and there is significant potential for the survival of buried archaeological deposits within and around the site. The partially submerged nature of the site means that there is a high potential for the preservation of organic material relating to the site's construction and use that rarely survives outside of waterlogged contexts. The monument can significantly add to our understanding of domestic settlement, society, agriculture and economy during the Iron Age.
The monument is a particularly good example of an island dun and is therefore an important representative of this monument type. It is part of a wider cluster of island duns and brochs in this part of North Uist, including Loch na Caiginn, dun and settlement (SM5855, NRHE ID 10444), Loch Na Dubcha (NRHE ID 10445) and Dun Mhic Laithean, dun, Groatay (SM5807, NRHE ID 10439). It can tell us about the character, development and use of defended settlements, and the nature of Iron Age society, economy and social hierarchy in the Western Isles. As a relatively undisturbed high-status settlement site, it can inform our understanding of the Iron Age landscape of North Uist
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
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.
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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.