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MHG2653 - Fort, Dun A' Chliabhain

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Dun a' Chliabhain (NAT) Fort (NR)
OS 6"map, (1957)

Dun a' Chliabhain, a fort, occupies a steep-sided rocky boss. It is 77 ft by 48 ft within a stone wall up to 12 ft thick, with an entrance on the E. An outer wall covers this in the NE (2). Wallace gives the wall thick- ness as 6 ft 6 ins and adds that the S side is defended by a 5 ft broad ditch, gradually becoming wider towards the SE.
R W Feachem 1963; T D Wallace 1921

Dun a' Chliabhain, a fort, is situated on the SW extremity of a ridge which protrudes SW from the higher ground above Drumindorsair; the NW, SW and SE flanks of the ridge are steep and in parts precipitous, but the approach from the NE is gradual.
Sub-oval on plan, the fort measures 23.5 m NW-SE by about 11.0 m within a wall averaging 3.6 m in thickness. Inner and outer wall faces, to a maximum height of three courses, can be traced amid tumble in all but the NW arc where the wall has slipped over the cliff. A shooting butt has been built into the wall in the S. The entrance passage, in the E, measures 3.8 m in length by 2.2 m in width; it is reduced to its lowest two courses. The interior of the fort is featureless.
The wall barring the easiest approach from the NE survives as a discontinuous line of outer facing-stones with three inner facing-stones evident at the S end giving a wall thickness of 2.2 m.
Outside the fort in the SW is a stony bank, about 1.5 m wide and 0.3 m high, with an internal ditch some 1.5 m wide and 0.3 m deep, which terminates on level ground at the SE end. It is possible that this is an unfinished outer defence.
Outside the bank are the vestiges of another wall, of uncertain purpose.
Planned at 1/1250.
Visited by OS (R L) 2 April 1970

Dun a' Chliabhain: This oval dun measures about 21.5 m by 11 m within a wall about 3.6 m thick, with an entrance on the E. The outer wall recorded by Feachem (R W Feachem 1963) does not appear to form part of the defences.
This is a dun and is as described in the previous field report, but the 'uncertain wall' across the SW approach is an outwork.
RCAHMS 1979

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Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 4770 4606 (100m by 100m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH44NE
Civil Parish	KILMORACK
Geographical Area	INVERNESS

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