EHG123 - Excavation - Dun Mor (Davie), Dornie

Topographical survey and trial excavations were carried out on Dun Mor, near Dornie, between February and April 1997. Dun Mor is a tree-covered ridge of undifferentiated gneiss which runs roughly NW/SE, c. 70m from the east shore of Loch Duich. A number of artificially enhanced platforms were discovered at different levels on the ridge; these had been created by connecting bedrock outcrops with retaining walls. Walls delimit access to the ridge from the south-east, where there is an isolated platform. A well defined pathway, enhanced in two places by retaining walls, dog-legs up the southern side of the ridge from the edge of Loch Duich. An oval cairn, covering a 'grave-shaped' hole, was discovered on one playform. Worked quartz, modern pottery, glass and iron objects were found in the dumped material behind the walls. While radiocarbon dates from two securely sealed deposits are consistent with the interpretation of Dun Mor as an Iron Age or Dark Age fortified ridge site, its morphology is slightly different from most well-known examples. The work was funded by Highland Council. <1> The excavation assemblage from the site was submitted to Treasure Trove (TT 140/99) and allocated to Invereness Museum. This comprised lithics, pottery and environmental samples. Box list inventories of the transfer from CFA to the Museum are available in the museum archive files. <2> <3>