Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2523 Ardnamurchan, Sanna, Rubha An Duin Bhain, Argyll

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG1 (None)

NMR:  NM 47 SW 1 (22141)

SM:  6172

NGR:  NM 4485 7038

X:  144850  Y:  770380  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fort occupies a precipitous promontory on the north coast of Ardnamurchan, its defences comprising a wall reduced to a bank of rubble some 3.7m thick and 1m high with two runs of outer face, which cuts across between the cliff-edges to block access from the landward side. Trapezoidal on plan, the interior measures a maximum of 90m from NW to SE by 45m transversely (0.29ha). The entrance midway along the wall opens onto a natural cleft in front of the wall, access to which is covered by a short length of outer wall, though this has been reduced to little more than a scatter of stones. The interior is largely bare rock and featureless, though in 1970 the OS surveyor identified a small structure at the foot of a rock-face as a shieling hut; it does not appear on the RCAHMS plan.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -687488  Y:  7710214  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.175805689559801  Latitude:  56.75503426802368  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Argyll

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ardnamurchan

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland  
Commercial Forestry Plantation  
Parkland  
Pasture (Grazing)  
Arable  
Scrub/Bracken  
Bare Outcrop  
Heather/Moorland  
Heath  
Built-up  
Coastal Grassland  
Other  

Landscape

Hillfort Type

None

Type:
Contour Fort  
Partial Contour Fort  
Promontory Fort  
Hillslope Fort  
Level Terrain Fort  
Marsh Fort  
Multiple Enclosure Fort  

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop  
Coastal Promontory  
Inland Promontory  
Valley Bottom  
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop  
Ridge  
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp  
Hillslope  
Lowland  
Spur  

Dominant Topographic Feature:  None

Aspect:
North  
Northeast  
East  
Southeast  
South  
Southwest  
West  
Northwest  
Level  

Altitude:  16.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

In the absence of excavation, there are neither stratified artefacts nor radiocarbon dates to provide a chronology for the defences.

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC  
1200BC - 800BC  
800BC - 400BC  
400BC - AD50  
AD50 - AD400  
AD400 - AD 800  
Post AD800  
Unknown  

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Photographed by RCAHMS Aerial Survey Programme in 2012

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1967):   Discovery by Dorothy Marshall (1967)
1st Identified Map Depiction (1970):   Surveyed at 1:10,000 by the OS
Earthwork Survey (1972):   Plan and description (RCAHMS 1980, 86, no.155, fig 79; RCAHMS AGD 640/1)
Other (1995):   Scheduled
Other (2000):   Visited by A M Fox of Highland HER

Interior Features

Featureless

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features  
Round Stone Structures  
Rectangular Stone Structures  
Curvilinear Platforms  
Other Roundhouse Evidence  
Pits  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics  
Pits  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds  
Pottery  
Metal  
Metalworking  
Human Bones  
Animal Bones  
Lithics  
Environmental  
Other  

Aerial

NO APPARENT FEATURES

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked  
None  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roads/Tracks  
Other  

Entrances

See main summary

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South):   None

Enclosing Works

Single wall blocking access to the promontory, with a short outer wall covering the entrance

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.29ha.
Total:   0.29ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Short outer wall omitted

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   0
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  
Unknown  

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Rubble  
Wall-walk  
Evidence of Timber  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
Other  

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Murus Duplex  
Timber-framed  
Timber-laced  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
No Known Excavation  
Other  

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✗   None

Number of Ditches:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

Marshall, D N (1967) 'Ardnamurchan, Dun Ban'. Disc Exc Scot 1967, 9

RCAHMS (1980) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the monuments volume 3: Mull, Tiree, Coll and Northern Argyll (excluding the early medieval and later monuments of Iona). HMSO: Edinburgh



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


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