Scheduled Monument
Dun, Eilean an StaoirSM5122
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
- 22/08/1991
- Last Date Amended
- 18/08/2026
- Type
- Prehistoric domestic and defensive: dun
- Local Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Planning Authority
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Parish
- South Uist
- NGR
- NF 73270 25938
- Coordinates
- 73270, 825938
Description
The monument comprises the remains of a dun, a substantial fortified stone structure, likely dating to the Iron Age (800BC-400AD), with possible later remains. It is located on an artificial or modified island, measuring about 35m by 28m, in the southern part of Loch Eilean an Staoir, about 5m above sea level. A stone causeway connects the island to the loch shore.
The dun, visible as grass-covered walls, is sub-oval in plan and occupies the northern part of the island. It measures about 22m east-west by 16m, with a maximum height of 2m. Remains of stone walling are visible internally. Stones around the edge of the island may represent an enclosing wall. The remains of later structures, now obscured by vegetation, sit on and around the dun. As water levels within the loch have risen significantly, the causeway is entirely 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 and appreciation of the past as an Iron Age fortified settlement with later reuse. It has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the construction and function of island duns during prehistory. There is significant potential for the survival of buried archaeological deposits within and around the site. In particular, 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 site is part of a wider phenomenon of island duns with causeways in South Uist, including Eilean Chreamh (NRHE ID: 9794), Upper Loch Bornish (NRHE ID: 9837) and Loch Cnoc A' Buidhe (NRHE ID: 9826). Study of the monument alongside these sites has the potential to inform our understanding of prehistoric fortified sites, the distribution and chronology of such sites, their role in society as well as changing settlement patterns and chronology.
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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