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MHG3963 - Fort - Rudha Na Crannaig, Eigg

Summary

No summary available.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

At NM 4910 8476 on a low rocky rise on the promontory of "Rudha na Crannaig" (?Point of the Pulpit), is a denuded fort. It is triangular on plan and measures 37.0m N-S by 21.0m across the S end, within a turf-covered wall spread generally to about 4m wide which has been quarried in places and has mainly fallen over the cliff on the E side. A few stones of the outer face are visible widely spaced around the periphery, and a stretch of the face about 5m long survives at the N end. One or two possible inner facing stones in the S and E suggest a wall thickness of c.2.5m. The entrance in the W side is marked by a gap 2.0m wide showing no structural features, but it appears to have been offset and the wall on its S side widens to about seven metres in width suggesting that there may have been a construction within it. The whole interior of the fort is occupied by traces of constructions and walls, some of which appear to be circular, but none showing sufficient structural detail to interpret with certainty.
About 20.0m to the N of the fort are traces of what may be a denuded outwork marked by a roughly curving line of intermittent boulders, but the sea has washed this area leaving boulder deposits and this could be a natural arrangement.
The internal constructions in the fort suggest a secondary, possible monastic occupation, and this could be the site of St Donan's Monastery (see NM 48 NE 15), but there is no conclusive evidence for this opinion. Enlargement at 1:1250.
Visible on RAF AP's 106G/Scot/UK 53:4079-80
Visited by OS (AA) 9 May 1972

An area of the fort was subject to geophysical survey by the University of Birmingham in 2006 as part of a project aimed at locating the possible site of the monastery founded by St Donan. Although several resistance anomalies were detected the results were not conclusive and it was considered that only excavation would reveal their true nature. <1>

This site was included in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland online database. See link below for site entry. <2>

GIS spatial data created based on the site as seen on aerial photography captured 2013. <3>

Sources/Archives (5)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NM 4914 8476 (32m by 46m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NM48SE
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

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Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (3)