Dun Lagaidh
Dun Lagaidh (also Dun Eagaibh) is an oval ledge on Loch Broom, an inlet north of Blarnalearoch, in Ross and Cromarty in the Highland Council Area in Scotland . The Dun Lagaidh and Dun Ringill systems on Skye are also known as semi-brochs. The square was initially the location of a wooden fort, which was built over with a dun , which was later included in a castle.
The excavations by Euan Wallace MacKie (born 1936) in 1967-68 showed that the fort, which was formed by an approximately 80 m long between 18 and 27 m wide section wall with a reinforcement of wooden logs, sealed off the east side of the hill where a narrow entrance can also be seen. A C14 dating gave the Iron Age date of around 565 BC. The only artifact from this phase was a fragment of thin bronze , possibly part of a mirror or razor.
The dun lies over the east side of the fort and has a diameter of 17.5 m; with 3.3 to 4.2 m thick walls. The east entrance is secured by two doors with a guard chamber. On the opposite side of the central courtyard there is access to an internal staircase, which has 16 more steps. The finds from the central courtyard include a bronze ring needle , several spindle whorls , many short iron nails and fragments of bronze sheet with rivets, possibly for mending a metal vessel.
Probably in the 12th century the dun was converted into a castle. The entrance was blocked, the wall reinforced and the internal staircase used as an entrance again. Two radial walls were built from the dun to the wall of the oldest fort, creating a bailey.
The hoard
Under the rubble of the northern radial wall a hoard of 14 whole and 8 half coins was discovered, identified as English “short-cross pennies” made of silver from the late 12th century (minted since 1180). They are inscribed HENRICUS REX and were minted in Carlisle, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Wilton, Winchester, Worcester and York. There are also two Scottish coins with the inscription "William the Lion" (1165–1214)
Nearby are Dun Canna and Dun on Ruigh Ruadh .
literature
- I. Armit: The Atlantic Scottish Iron Age: five levels of chronology , (1992)
- Charles ST Calder & KA Steer: Dun Lagaidh and four other prehistoric monuments near Ullapool, Ross and Cromarty 1951 Held at RCAHMS E.9.11.CAL.P
Web links
- Entry on Dun Lagaidh in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
Coordinates: 57 ° 52 '22.5 " N , 5 ° 8' 2.1" W.