Publication Account
Date 2007
Event ID 587365
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/587365
NF60 7 DUN SCURRIVAL
NF/6954 0810
This probable broch (perhaps ground-galleried) or 'galleried dun' near Eoligarry in Barra stands on the summit of a small hill about 30.1m (100 ft) high on the west coast of the island. There are traces of the boulder foundation of an “impressive” outer wall crossing the neck of the promontory [3]
The dilapidated main structure is pear-shaped in plan with the apex to the west and the inner wallface gives internal measurements of about 15.9m (52 ft) east-west and 11.9m (39 ft) north-south; the outer wallface has been mostly destroyed. There are traces of an intra-mural gallery on the west-south-west and on the north-east. At the latter place the wall is 4.42m (14 ft 6 in) thick, and the inner wall of the gallery is 1.22m (4 ft) thick. A doorway from the gallery to the interior can be seen and the passage is 0.61 - 0.71m (2 ft - 2 ft 4 in) wide. A possible scarcement was seen at the west end but dilapidation prevented positive identification [2]; however a later report confirms it [1].
Finds: Iron Age sherds and a fragment of a polished stone axe from the site were presented to the National Museums in 1977 [6], and other pottery and bone artifacts were described by Young [4, 291 and fig. 2]. Two of the rim sherds among the latter are similar to the pottery from Dun Cuier (NF60 5) so a late Iron Age occupation of Dun Scurrival seems indicated. Whether the structure was built then is unknown but the presence of a MIA wheelhouse on the island (below) suggests that it is probably older.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NF 60 NE 3: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 132, no. 449: 3. Scott 1947, 3: 4. Young 1956: 5. Young 1962, 193: 6. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 109 (1977-78), 381, no. 20 (donations): 7. Branigan and Foster 2002, 152: 8. Armit 1997, 268: 9. Sharples and Parker Pearson 1997, 256: 10. Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1984, 44 (sherds).
E W MacKie 2007
