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Field Visit
Date 20 April 2015 - 22 April 2015
Event ID 1103136
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1103136
Field visits were undertaken to various sites, 20–22 April 2015, as part of a general survey of forts on Skye carried out by Simon Wood and Ian Ralston as part of the fieldwork for the former’s PhD research.
NG 37400 64720 Dun Skudiburgh (Canmore ID: 11195) Occupying a position of some strength on a conspicuous knoll, Dun Skudiburgh, a dun sitting on top of a vitrified fort, has perhaps been underrepresented by previous investigators. At least two different phases are visible in the dun, with considerably poorer quality drystone walling including many smaller stones evident to the W, S and SE.
A poor quality wall running parallel parallel to the main dun wall c1m outside it in the W and S has little structural integrity in itself and is likely to be compartively recent. The vitrified fort is more complex than depicted in the RCAHMS plan (1928).
Two additional lines of defence were observed on the steep E side, the outer more easily discernible with a clearly visible outer face up to three courses high in places. The inner is only identifiable in a few patches up to two courses high.
The enclosure identfied by RCAHMS in the NW appears more likely to be a bank running parallel to the fort wall. Another rampart leading N away from the N-facing entrance is probably also a later field bank, possibly a continuation of this feature. An additional area is enclosed by a wall on the W. The OS previously identified this rampart as a probable later wall, but no stratigraphic evidence was noted for this to be the case. It defends a steep but accessible slope into a small plateau surrounded by sheer cliffs falling to the sea.
In total there are three apparent lower enclosures that may be contemporary with either the fort or the dun. Vitrified stone was observed on several stones in the inner fort wall. Two rocky beaches, one to the N and one to the S are less than 200m away from the fort and offer comparitively easy access to and from the sea.
Archive: National Record of the Historic Environment (intended)
Funder: School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
Simon Wood and Ian Ralston – University of Edinburgh
(Source: DES, Volume 16)
