Scheduled Monument
Dun Torcuill, broch, Loch an DuinSM2349
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
- 19/11/1963
- Last Date Amended
- 04/06/2026
- Type
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: broch; dun
- Local Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Planning Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Parish
- North Uist
- NGR
- NF 88885 73735
- Coordinates
- 88885, 873735
Description
The monument comprises the remains of a broch, a complex and substantial stone-built roundhouse, dating to the Iron Age (800BC-400AD) It occupies a partially artificial island with a causeway linking it to the loch shore. A number of stone-built enclosures, probably of medieval or post medieval date, abut the broch. The monument is located within Loch an Duin, North Uist, at about 10m above sea level.
The broch is located on the southeastern end of a sub-oval shaped island. The island, which is a modified natural feature, measures about 35m by 25m. The broch is sub-circular on plan and measures about 19m by 16m internally. The wall stands up to about 2m in height. Features visible within the broch wall include a stair, gallery and long intra-mural chamber. The enclosures have been built against the north side of the broch and appear to have been constructed after the broch was out of use. The causeway runs in an arc from northwest to southeast. It is about 32m long and up to about 3.5m wide, built of stone and utilising a natural islet.
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 broch with a causeway and evidence for later re-use. It has potential to contribute to our understanding of the construction and function of island structures during prehistory. The later enclosures demonstrate the continued importance of this place. The broch 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 broch 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 an Duin (NRHE ID 10351), Loch Bru (NRHE ID 10369) and Dunan Dubh (NRHE ID 10376). 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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