MHG7988 - Broch - Dun Alascaig
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- BROCH (Iron Age - 550 BC to 560 AD)
Protected Status
Full Description
NH68NE 11 6569 8682.
Dun Alascaig (NR) OS 6" map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1907)
Dun-faire-Cosgaidh (NR) (Site of) OS 6" map, Ross-shire, 1st ed., (1875)
On rising ground to S of Dornoch Firth are remains of a broch, variously spelt as Dun Alisaig, Aliscaig, Alascaig or Alaisgaig (Watson 1904) now almost totally destroyed. All that survives are about twenty earthfast boulders, a heap of stones and a triangular lintel stone 5' long (Young 1964).
In 1760 broch measured 30' internally, with walls 12.5' thick at base and battered externally, surviving to 15' in height. The entrance, c3' wide, had a triangular lintel stone. On each side was a chamber set back 8.5' from entrance and within a wall was a mural passage with stair (Kemp 1887). Maitland in 1757 noted three galleries. Cordiner giving a ground plan in 1776 records four oval-ended chambers. The broch was destroyed about 1818 (Watson 1904).
W Maitland 1757; C Cordiner 1776; D W Kemp 1887; W J Watson 1904; A Young 1964.
The overgrown remains of a broch known locally as Dun Alascaig. A single course of outer face survives almost intact around N and W arcs and intermittently elsewhere, giving an overall diameter of 17.3m. The triangular lintel stone is within E arc but it is probably not in situ and entrance is no longer evident. All other details are destroyed or masked by tumble.
Resurveyed at 1/2500 (OS {WDJ})
Visited by OS (W D J) 3 May 1963 and (A A) 28 October 1969.
'Little now survives of this broch, which was still standing to a height of 4.5m in the 18th century' RCAHMS 1979
This has been a desk assessment area.
J Wordsworth, SSSIs, Scottish Natural Heritage, 1993
This site was included in Mackie's 2007 'The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC - AD 500: Architecture and material culture'. See link below to HES Canmore record which includes the chapter on this site. <1>
Sources/Archives (7)
- --- SHG2060 Text/Publication/Volume: Cordiner, C. 1788. Remarkable Ruins, and Romantic Prospects, of North Britain. 118; plan.
- --- SHG2492 Text/Publication/Volume: Maitland, W. 1757. The history and antiquities of Scotland, from the earliest account of time to the death of James the First, anno 1437. Vol. 1, 145.
- --- SHG2624 Text/Publication/Volume: Kemp, D W (ed.). 1887. Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760. plan.
- --- SHG2670 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty District, Highland Region. . 23, No. 185.
- --- SHG2917 Text/Publication/Volume: Watson, W J. 1904. Place names of Ross and Cromarty. 31.
- --- SHG293 Text/Publication/Article: Young, A. 1964. 'Brochs and duns', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 95 1961-2, p.171-98. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 171-98. 186, No. 32.
- <1> SHG26111 Text/Publication/Monograph: Mackie, E.. 2007. The Roundhouses, Brochs and Wheelhouses of Atlantic Scotland c.700 BC - AD 500: Architecture and material culture Part 2 (I & II) The Northern and Southern Mainland and the Western Islands. BAR British Series. 444. Paperback. NH68 1 DUN ALISAIG.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 6569 8682 (70m by 70m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH68NE |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | EDDERTON |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM4964 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/13810 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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