SRP Archaeology Notes
Date 25 August 2011
Event ID 634644
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Srp Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/634644
The northern tip of the main dyke that divides Crofts 1 and 2 of Kilpatrick Farm terminates at the inner defensive wall.
This fort is also known as Dun a’ Mhorair - Fort of the Lord (Charles Maclean 'The Isle of Mull: Placenames, Meanings and Stories') and by older local inhabitants as the “Danish Fort”.
MIDDEN. NM 41317 23607. An accumulation of limpet and other shells to the E of the fort, above high tide level, may constitute a shell midden that is gradually becoming exposed by sea erosion.
STONE PILES. NM 41327 23524. Three individual, but closely related, piles of stones (moss covered) of around 3m diameter at the NE end of two trackways, and in close proximity to Dun na Muirgheidh to the N. They do not appear to be field clearance cairns so may be burial cairns.
QUARRY/NAUST NM 41289 23552. A NNW-facing recess in a natural rock outcrop that appears to have been excavated or at least extended. It measures around 10m deep by 5m wide with a maximum height of rock face of around 2m. Because of its close proximity to Dun na Muirgheidh, the rock may have been quarried for construction purposes, either for the fort itself or for the later buildings that stand in and around it. The recess stands a few metres above the current high tide level, and may also have been used as a boat naust or shelter, for which it is ideal.
STONE PILE NM 41288 23568 A small pile of loose stones that have been stacked against the northern end of the rock face on the western side of the recess.
CAIRNS NM 41263 23499 Two piles of large stones on a low promontory near a cliff edge above the seashore, that appear to be cairns. One is around 7.5m in diameter, and has small upright stones
around the margin and may be the remains of a kerbed cairn. The other is around 4m in diameter. Both piles appear to have been disrupted, and/or added to, by later field clearance, and there are other features in the vicinity that may be the remains of other structures or enclosures.
SINGLE-CELL STRUCTURE NM 41388 23503 The turf-covered remains of stone footings of a sub-rectangular structure, measuring around 3.5m x 3n. It is situated on a flat platform at the top edge of a break of slope, amongst the remains of strip cultivation.
STONE PILE NM 41324 23426 A small pile of stones occurs in close proximity, and may be field clearance of rocks from the small structure.
DYKE & DITCH NM 41230 23370 The stone footings of a curving, N-S field boundary a few metres to the W of the large boat-shaped stone pile or cairn at NM 41238 23388 . A short section of ditch runs parallel to one section of the dyke.
STRUCTURE, BANK AND DITCH NM 41333 23456 What appears to be the remains of the dry-stone footings of a small stone structure with an adjacent section of bank and ditch.
TRACKWAY NM 41317 23440 NM 41319 23467
The remains of a former trackway that cuts through a natural break of slope, heading in a NE direction towards Dun na Muirgheadh and the stone piles at NM 41327 23524. The two wheel ruts are very distinctive in places and are around 3m apart. The trackway may be associated with the Dun or the later Medieval buildings in and around the fort, and was probably used into modern times.
CAIRN NM 41238 23388 A prominent, boat-shaped pile of stones measuring 9m x 5m, by 1.5m high. It is oriented roughly N-S, and stands in the middle of an open area of grassland.
DYKE & PILE OF STONES NM 41207 23446 The footings of a short section of dry-stone dyke, oriented north-south, that runs between the shore near the harbour(Poll an Dobhrain NM 41209 23501) to a low crag. At its southern end it develops into a large pile of stones around 4.5m wide against the rock face.
STONE PILE NM 41300 23420 Between the eastern end of the enclosures at NM41288 23394 and the modern fence line, stands another pile of stones that may have resulted from field clearance. There is a short section of ditch adjacent to this pile, and the field surface to the N and W shows signs of strip cultivation with a series of rigs and furrows.
