Field Visit
Date 12 June 1915
Event ID 1104224
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1104224
Dun, Biruaslum, Vatersay.
On the west coast of Vatersay is a small island measuring about ¼ mile from east to west and slightly less from north to south. It forms a domical rocky cone rising to a height of 229 feet above the Atlantic. Its sides are generally precipitous, but towards the land on the east and to the south-east the rock slopes gradually up out of the water. A narrow, rocky gorge, bordered by a cliff 20 feet high on the landward side, cuts it off from the larger island. Only for a short time between the tides is this gorge dry, and as the islet is fully exposed to the Atlantic it is accessible only in good weather. Beyond the rocky gorge a flat shelf of limited area leads on to a gentle grassy slope, on which are numerous stones, possibly the remains of small stone buildings. Above this is a strong stonewall, the ends of which rest on the rocky shore about 100 yards apart, and which curves up for about 50 yards from the base of the hill. Viewed from the shore the outer face of the wall, that is on the concave and lower side, stands about 3 feet high, and it seems to be about 9 feet thick. On the north-western curve several bluffs of rock interpose, and the wall is discontinued at these places. On a shelf on the southern side of the island there are quantities of stones, said to be the remains of circular buildings of various sizes.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 12 June 1915.
OS map: Barra lxvi (unnoted).
