Archaeology Notes

Event ID 649092

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/649092

NC40SW 3 41040 00888

NC 4104 0084. On Torr a' Chorcain, a prominent knoll rising some 100' above the floodplain of the River Oykell, are the remains of a vitrified fort, and a small circular vitrified dun.

The dun occupies the highest part of the knoll, the SW end, the measures 11.0m in internal diameter. The walling, now turf-covered and spread to a width of 9.0m, is heavily vitrified on the N and S, and on both sides of the entrance, which is in the E. The original width of the walling was probably about 4.0m.

The dun is enclosed within, and clearly overlies, part of the ruins of a vitrified fort which occupies the whole of the knoll and measures 120m NE-SW by 80m transversely. The fort defences consist of a scarping of the lower slopes of the knoll on the N and S, and much-robbed stone wall around the top of the knoll in which traces of vitrified material can be seen. There are no defences around the W side which falls away steeply to the river. The entrance is in the NE side.

The site is of some interest because (i) the only other known, small, timber-laced dun, is the example at Rahoy, Argyllshire, excavated by Childe (V G Childe and W Thorneycroft 1938), and (ii) the relationship of the dun and fort may provide a link in the problem of the evolution of the broch.

Surveyed at 1:2500.

Visited by OS (N K B) 23 November 1966.

V G Childe and W Thorneycroft 1938.

Partial excavation by Miss Nisbet in 1973 and 1974 was concentrated mainly on the dun but a section across the inner rampart of the fort showed that the existing feature consisted largely of upcast from stone-robbing overlying at least two occupation levels. Neither vitrification in situ nor evidence of timberlacing was found. Both beneath and outside the dun there were traces of occupation including ironworking. The dun was confirmed as being a timberlaced construction. It has a diameter of 15.5m within a wall 5.0m thick, standing to a height of over 2m internally, faced with well-coursed slabs and infilled with waterworn stones which show a core of vitrification. The entrance, 2m wide, flanked by post holes and floored with logs has a guard chamber on its left. Internally a ring of about fourteen stout posts set at a distance of 4.5m from the wall had supported a roof of timber, turf and twigs probably open in the centre. A wooden ramp or gangway had run up the hillside to the entrance, to be continued in the interior as a turf ramp. Two phases of occupation before the fire which caused the vitrification, and one after it could be determined. The last involved internal levelling of the debris from wall and re-roofing using new posts. Radio carbon dates for the dun give a range from 10 BC to 440 BC, but two samples taken from one roof timber give over-lapping dates of 210 to 290 BC. The only finds from the excavation, besides whetstones and other simple stone tools, were an iron knife blade and two stone beads. There was no pottery. A midden lies outside the dun entrance on the right.

H C Nisbet 1973; H C Nisbet 1974.

The vitrified dun, and the fort, probably not vitrified, are as described by Nisbet.

Revised at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS (J B), 1 October 1976.