Field Visit
Date May 1983
Event ID 1102571
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1102571
This dun and its outworks (Campbell and Sandeman 1964) are situated at the NE end of an elongated rocky ridge about 680m NE of Achahoish church.
Perched upon the craggy boss that forms the highest point of the ridge, the dun enjoys strong natural protection on all sides, but particularly on the NW, where there are sheer rock faces 13.5m high; relatively easy access to the summit is possible only on the NE by means of a sinuous route between the numerous outcrops.
The dun is roughly D-shaped on plan, measuring about 16m by 12m within a much-wasted drystone wall. Except on the W, where it has been destroyed by a collapse of the rock face, the wall survives as a heavy band of core material or a stony scarp, in which occasional outer facing-stones can still be seen. The best-preserved sector of the outer face is on the SSE, where it stands 1m high in six courses, although the lowest course lies as much as 3m below the level of the summit area. The entrance probably lay on the NE, where the weight of wall-debris is appreciably lighter.
The outworks, for the most part, comprise short lengths of drystone walling of relatively slight construction, drawn along the outer edge of rocky shelves lying below the dun on the NE and SW, their purpose being to impede immediate access to the summit; the lowest stretches on the ENE, however, have been constructed in a rather irregular fashion of peculiarly massive slabs and boulders - a feature of outworks at several prehistoric defensive sites in other parts of Argyll.
Visited May 1983
RCAHMS 1988