SC2548: Luing, Leccamore |
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HER: The West of Scotland Archaeology Service 867
NMR: NM 71 SE 2 (22629)
SM: 2439
NGR: NM 7507 1078
X: 175070 Y: 710780 (EPSG:27700)
Boundary: ✗
The spectacularly well-preserved dun on the summit of this ridge stands within a larger enclosure defended by a wall set lower down the slope. Irregular on plan, this enclosure measures about 50m from N to S by up to 40m transversely (0.13ha) within the wall, which is largely reduced to a band of rubble with a few runs of outer facing-stones on the S and W; a gap on the SW probably marks the entrance. On the N traces of a second wall can be seen on the inner lip of a ditch some 3m in depth, which, along with a second ditch 1.8m in depth, cuts across the spine of the ridge on this side. The dun itself measures about 20m from NNE to SSW by 13m transversely within a wall between 4m and 4.9m in thickness and still standing in some places up to 3m in height. One entrance with checks and a bar-hole lies on the SW, while a second with chambers to either side, that on the W leading to a mural stair, is on the NE. Excavations were carried out by Allan Macnaughton at the dun in 1890 and 1892.
| Citizen Science: | ✗ |
| Reliability of Data: | Confirmed |
| Reliability of Interpretation: | Confirmed: | Usually considered as an outwork to the dun but potentially a freestanding fortification, albeit that it falls below the 0.2ha threshold |
X: -626856 Y: 7605587 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -5.631147 Latitude: 56.236231 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Argyll & Bute
Historic County: Argyll
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Kilbrandon And Kilchattan
| Extant: | ✓ |
| Cropmark: | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed: | ✗ |
| Woodland: | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation: | ✗ |
| Parkland: | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing): | ✓ |
| Arable: | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken: | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop: | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland: | ✓ |
| Heath: | ✗ |
| Built-up: | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| Contour Fort: | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort: | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort: | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort: | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort: | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort: | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort: | ✗ |
| Hilltop: | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory: | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory: | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom: | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop: | ✗ |
| Ridge: | ✓ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp: | ✗ |
| Hillslope: | ✗ |
| Lowland: | ✗ |
| Spur: | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: ✗
| North: | ✗ |
| Northeast: | ✗ |
| East: | ✗ |
| Southeast: | ✗ |
| South: | ✗ |
| Southwest: | ✗ |
| West: | ✗ |
| Northwest: | ✗ |
| Level: | ✓ |
Altitude: 85.0m
| Boundary Type: | ✗ |
Second HER: ✗
Second Current County or Unitary Authority: ✗
Second Historic County: ✗
Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: ✗
Material recovered from the dun but none of it closely datable
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC: | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC: | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC: | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50: | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400: | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800: | ✗ |
| Post AD800: | ✗ |
| Unknown: | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort Activity: | ✗ |
| Post Hillfort Activity: | ✓ | Secondary walls built within the dun; the latter may also be later than its outworks, here regarded as a possible fortification in its owm right |
| Artefactual: | No details. |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1871): | Annotated Fort on the 1st edition OS 6-inch map (Argyll and Bute 1880, sheet 129) |
| Earthwork Survey (1888): | Sketch-plan and description by David Christison (1889, 405-6, fig 30) |
| Excavation (1892): | (Macnaughton 1891) |
| Excavation (1892): | (Macnaughton 1893) |
| Other (1964): | Scheduled |
| Earthwork Survey (1966): | Plan and description (RCAHMS 1975, 91-2, no.189, fig 75; RCAHMS AGD 494/1-5) |
| Other (1971): | Surveyed at 1:2500 by the OS |
Featureless apart from the dun
| None: | ✓ |
| Spring: | ✗ |
| Stream: | ✗ |
| Pool: | ✗ |
| Flush: | ✗ |
| Well: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
Summit occupied by the dun
| No Known Features: | ✗ |
| Round Stone Structures: | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures: | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms: | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence: | ✗ |
| Pits: | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✓ |
| No Known Excavation: | ✓ |
| Pits: | ✗ |
| Postholes: | ✗ |
| Roundhouses: | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures: | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks: | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| Nothing Found: | ✗ |
| No Known Geophysics: | ✓ |
| Pits: | ✗ |
| Roundhouses: | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures: | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks: | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| Nothing Found: | ✗ |
Stone pounders discs and querns; a quartz strike-a-light; bronze stem; iron blade; iron slag; bone points and other antler and bone material.
| No Known Finds: | ✗ |
| Pottery: | ✓ |
| Metal: | ✓ |
| Metalworking: | ✓ |
| Human Bones: | ✗ |
| Animal Bones: | ✓ |
| Lithics: | ✓ |
| Environmental: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked: | ✗ |
| None: | ✓ |
| Roundhouses: | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures: | ✗ |
| Pits: | ✗ |
| Postholes: | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
See main summary
| Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts: | 1 |
| Number of Possible Original Entrances: |
Guard Chambers: ✗
| Chevaux de Frise: | ✗ |
| Entrance 1 (Southwest): | Simple Gap |
Single wall, with additional wall and ditches on the N
| Enclosed Area 1: | 0.13ha. |
| Enclosed Area 2: | ✗ |
| Enclosed Area 3: | ✗ |
| Enclosed Area 4: | ✗ |
| Total Enclosed Area: | 0.1ha. |
Total Footprint Area: ✗
| Multi-period Enclosure System: | ✗ | The central dun is discounted from this analysis |
| Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit: | ✗ |
| Number of Ramparts: | 2 |
| Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant: | ✗ |
| Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate: | ✓ |
| Univallate: | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate: | ✓ |
| Bivallate: | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate: | ✗ |
| Multivallate: | ✗ |
| Unknown: | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate: | ✗ |
| Univallate: | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate: | ✗ |
| Bivallate: | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate: | ✗ |
| Multivallate: | ✗ |
| None: | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank: | ✗ |
| Stone Wall: | ✓ |
| Rubble: | ✗ |
| Wall-walk: | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber: | ✗ |
| Vitrification: | ✗ |
| Other Burning: | ✗ |
| Palisade: | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank: | ✗ |
| Berm: | ✗ |
| Unfinished: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| None: | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank: | ✗ |
| Stone Wall: | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex: | ✗ |
| Timber-framed: | ✗ |
| Timber-laced: | ✗ |
| Vitrification: | ✗ |
| Other Burning: | ✗ |
| Palisade: | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank: | ✗ |
| Berm: | ✗ |
| Unfinished: | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation: | ✓ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| Gang Working: | ✗ |
Ditches: ✓
| Number of Ditches: | 2: | Cutting across the spine of the ridge |
| Annex: | ✗ |
Christison, D (1889) The duns and forts of Lorne, Nether Lochaber, and the neighbourhood'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 23 (1888-9), 368-432
Macnaughton, A (1891) 'Notice of excavations in the South Fort, Island of Luing, Argyleshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 25 (1890-91), 476-83
Macnaughton, A (1893) 'Notes on further excavations of the South Fort, Luing, Argyllshire'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 27 (1892-93), 375-80
RCAHMS (1975) The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the ancient monuments: volume 2: Lorn. HMSO: Edinburgh
Atlas of Hillforts: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/?query=Atlas_of_Hillforts_4166_0%2CMain_Atlas_Number%2C2548
Wikidata: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q31095220
The online version of the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland should be cited as:
Lock, G. and Ralston, I. 2017. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.