SC2744: Eilean Donan Castle | (Castle Donnan; Ellan Donnan; Loch Duich) |
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HER: Highland HER MHG45372
NMR: NG 82 NE 3 (11823)
SM: 7575
NGR: NG 8812 2583
X: 188127 Y: 825836 (EPSG:27700)
Boundary: ✗
The medieval castle on the small tidal island of Eilean Donan, heavily restored in the early 20th century, may have occupied the site of an earlier fort, though evaluations in 2008 and further excavation in 2009 and 2010 did not encounter any remains of it. A length of collapsed walling on the NW side of the bridge that now connects the island contains fragments of vitrified stone, though the wall itself probably belongs to the more recent defences.
| Citizen Science: | ✗ |
| Reliability of Data: | Unconfirmed |
| Reliability of Interpretation: | Unconfirmed |
X: -614051 Y: 7816323 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -5.516111 Latitude: 57.273971 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Highland
Historic County: Ross-shire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Kintail
| Extant: | ✓ |
| Cropmark: | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed: | ✓ |
| Woodland: | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation: | ✗ |
| Parkland: | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing): | ✗ |
| Arable: | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken: | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop: | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland: | ✗ |
| Heath: | ✗ |
| Built-up: | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland: | ✓ |
| Other: | ✗ |
The form of this fort is uncertain, occupying a tidal island
| 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: 5.0m
| Boundary Type: | ✗ |
Second HER: ✗
Second Current County or Unitary Authority: ✗
Second Historic County: ✗
Second Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: ✗
The character and date of any earlier occupation here can only be demonstrated by excavation
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: | ✓ | Occupied by a medieval castle |
| None: | No details. |
While the ruins of the castle had long been a local landmark, the first mention of the wall containing virtified stones is by T Wallace in 1921. Referencing of the castle is omitted here. 1998
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1921): | Wall and vitrifaction noted (Wallace 1921, 109) |
| Other (1966): | Visited by the OS |
| Other (1974): | Visited by the OS |
| Other (1998): | Scheduled |
| Excavation (2008): | Evaluation (Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd, 2008) |
| Excavation (2009): | Area excavation (Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd, 2009) |
| Excavation (2010): | Area excavation (Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd, 2010) |
Occupied by the castle
| None: | ✓ |
| Spring: | ✗ |
| Stream: | ✗ |
| Pool: | ✗ |
| Flush: | ✗ |
| Well: | ✗ |
| Other: | ✗ |
| 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: | ✗ |
| 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: | ✗ |
None known
| Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts: | 0 |
| Number of Possible Original Entrances: | 0: | Not known |
Guard Chambers: ✗
| Chevaux de Frise: | ✗ |
Vitrifaction, but no other evidence
| Enclosed Area 1: | ✗ |
| Enclosed Area 2: | ✗ |
| Enclosed Area 3: | ✗ |
| Enclosed Area 4: | ✗ |
| Total Enclosed Area: | ✗ |
Total Footprint Area: ✗
| Multi-period Enclosure System: | ✗ | Size unknown, but the higher part of the island extends to only 0.17ha |
| Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit: | ✗ | Nothing known about the defences |
| Number of Ramparts: | 0 |
| Number of Ramparts NE Quadrant: | ✗ |
| Number of Ramparts SE Quadrant: | ✗ |
| Number of Ramparts SW Quadrant: | ✗ |
| Number of Ramparts NW Quadrant: | ✗ |
| 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: | ✗ |
No evidence of the earlier defences recorded
| 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: |
| Annex: | ✗ |
Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd (2008) 'Eilean Donan Castle, Highland (Kintail parish), geophysical survey, topographical survey and evaluation'. Disc Exc Scot, New Ser, 9 (2008), 110
Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd (2009) 'Eilean Donan Castle, Highland (Kintail parish), excavation'. Disc Exc Scot, New Ser, 10 (2009), 104
Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd (2010) 'Eilean Donan Castle, Highland (Kintail parish), watching brief and excavation'. Disc Exc Scot, New Ser, 11 (2010), 98
Wallace, T (1921) 'Archaeological notes'. Trans Inverness Sci Soc Fld Club 8 (1921), 109
Atlas of Hillforts: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/?query=Atlas_of_Hillforts_4166_0%2CMain_Atlas_Number%2C2744
Wikidata: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q31099913
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.