Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

SC2690 Sanday, Sean Dun, Inverness-shire (Dun Easubric; Greod; Suileabhaig; Canna)

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Highland HER MHG44364 (None)

NMR:  NG 20 SE 10 (10741)

SM:  5908

NGR:  NG 2811 0398

X:  128110  Y:  803980  (OSGB36)

Summary

This fortification encloses the summit of an elongated stack situated above the beach on the E side of the bay named Suileabhaig. Irregular on plan, the interior is largely defined by cliffs around the NNW end and the seaward flank, but along the more accessible NE flank is defended by a wall up to 2.2m thick; few inner facing-stones are visible, but stretches of the outer face can be seen and in some places this stands 0.5m high in several courses. The entrance is in the middle of the NE side, where the wall skirts the lip of a deep natural hollow in the side of the stack, and the NW side of the gap is formed by a single massive boulder 1.2m high. The interior measures about 61m from NNW to SSE by a maximum of 25m transversely and contains two structures within its SSE end, though both appear to overlie the wall. One is a small bothy and is probably associated with three similar structures at the foot of the stack below the entrance, while the other is an oval enclosure measuring 7.2m from N to S by 5.3m transversely within a wall 1.1m thick by 0.4m high.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -721879  Y:  7769630  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.484746181066961  Latitude:  57.04650760414707  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Scotland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Highland

Historic County:  Inverness-shire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Small Isles

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:  15.0m

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:   Overlain by a small hut and enclosure

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

None

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1953):   Annotated map by T C Lethbridge seen by the OS
1st Identified Map Depiction (1972):   Description and surveyed at 1:10,000 by the OS
Other (1994):   Description by RCAHMS
Other (1994):   Scheduled
Earthwork Survey (1996):   Plan (RCAHMS DC46212-13)

Interior Features

Featureless apart from a hut and an oval enclosure or building that appear to overlie the wall

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

Oval enclosure, which is possibly a building

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

Oval enclosure is visible

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:   Incomplete circuit

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North east):   One side formed by a single massive boulder

Enclosing Works

Single wall around the summit of a stack

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.12ha.
Total:   0.12ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

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

No related records



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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