Dig deeper: how to designate a site like Kraiknish Dun

The Iron Age dun of Kraiknish sits on the top of a rocky knoll on the coastline at the mouth of Loch Eynort on Skye. It was built around 2000 years ago, and now survives as a drystone wall that measures 3m in thickness and stands up to 2.5m in height on the landward side. A second stone wall is visible below the dun, but is masked by tumbled rubble. It would originally have had a low timber and thatch roof with a heavy timber door guarding an entrance passage. It is a really interesting and atmospheric site, in a really dramatic setting. 

Iron Age Celtic architecture

The west coast of Scotland is home to some of Europe’s best-preserved Iron Age Celtic architecture. Our stone-built brochs and duns are part of an Iron Age settlement pattern of defended homesteads that both protected their occupants and demonstrated land ownership and tenure. They were usually built in places with good agricultural land, with relatively productive soils and sheltered conditions. The people who built them were productive and self-sufficient farmers, growing barley and rearing cattle and sheep. You can learn more about brochs and duns in our booklet To Build a Broch.

Cultural significance

Kraiknish Dun was recently proposed for ‘scheduling’ – designation as a scheduled monument. The site was assessed as part of the evaluation process, and three key aspects of its ‘cultural significance’ were considered.

The intrinsic characteristics involve thinking about the site itself, on its architectural qualities and archaeological potential, and how the remains of a site or place contribute to our knowledge of the past. The Assessment of Cultural Significance notes that “the plan of the monument is clear with well-preserved structural elements, including the enclosing wall, entrance passage with surviving door-check and a defensive outer wall. Other architectural details may survive, now hidden by collapsed walling, such as a door socket or bar-hole.” It also notes that “there is significant potential for the survival of archaeological features and deposits, including occupation and abandonment debris, artefacts and environmental remains such as charcoal or pollen.”

Considering the contextual characteristics involves placing the site within its wider context, and thinking about its place within the Iron Age archaeology of Skye and the Atlantic coast of Scotland. The Assessment notes that “there is potential to study these sites together to better understand their functions within the local communities, settlement hierarchy and possible chronological development in the area. The monument has the potential to enhance and broaden our understanding of prehistoric society and community as well as social organisation, land division and land use.”

Looking into any associative characteristics considers how a site or place relates to people, events, or historic and social movements. However, there are no known associative characteristics connected to the monument.

Surveying Kraiknish Dun

The scheduling of Kraiknish Dun is recognition of not only its cultural significance but also the hard work of our staff and our partners in undertaking a thorough archaeological record of the site. We used an array of survey techniques, including drone photography and state-of-the-art laser scanning technology (including LiDAR) to create an amazingly detailed record. Archaeological investigation is an important activity on the land we manage. By furthering our knowledge of the many archaeological sites, historic structures and cultural landscapes in our care we can understand how best to protect, conserve and present them.

You can watch a 3D-animated fly-through of the site in this video.

Would you like to learn more about our archaeological investigation work? We have a number of case studies available on our website.