North Uist, Carinish, Loch Caravat, Dun Ban

Dun Ban, Loch Caravat, North Uist.

Dun Ban, on an islet about 200 yards from the southern shore of Loch Caravat, is possibly the most interesting of the insulated dwellings in the Western Isles, for while it must be classed with the island duns and is one of a plan common in the neighbourhood, it is a mediaeval structure built with lime mortar and having features in common with the castles of the mainland, with which the builder was evidently familiar. (Fig. 123.) The islet is entirely occupied by the structure, which measures externally 64 by 71 feet and is D-shaped on plan, the frontal curve lying towards the east being penetrated by a re-entrant containing the doorway. The outer wall, 9 feet in greatest height, averages 6 ½ feet in thickness and is built of rubble roughly coursed, with pinnings in places, laid in a heavy lime mortar bed of poor quality containing sea shells. While the masonry of the entrance is heavily grouted, in the other parts mortar seems to have been used only for bedding. The entrance is set back 12 feet within a recess similar to the “boat harbour” noted in other duns. The doorway is 4 feet wide, and the sill is 3 feet above the foundation and 3 ½ feet above the water; the jambs are checked on either side for the door, and the bar hole 8 inches square is found in the southern jamb, the- corresponding socket being ruinous. (Fig. 120.)

The interior is divided transversely into two unequal portions. The inner, which lies at a lower level than the other, is a dwelling apparently one-storeyed and comprising a single chamber 51 ½ by 19 ¼ feet, which contains two aumbries and narrow windows with splayed jambs to north and east. Other chambers in the outer part are represented only by mounds of debris, but it is probable that small angular chambers roofed with flags lay on either side of the entrance.

RCAHMS 18 July 1924.

OS map: North Uist xl

Dun Ban, Loch Caravat, was surveyed by RCAHMS on 18 July 1924 using plane-table and alidade. The plan was redrawn in ink and published at a reduced scale (RCAHMS 1928, fig. 126). A reconstruction drawing was also prepared.

NF 8362 6000, NF 8476 5873 and NF 7444 2877

A deskbased assessment and walkover survey were carried out 14 October–2 November 2010 prior to improvement works to the A859 road. The DBA identified several significant prehistoric sites in the vicinity of the developments at Carinish,

including an Iron Age dun (Dun Ban – NF86SW 20) and two scheduled monuments; a stone circle (Carinish – NF86SW 1) and a chambered cairn (Caravat Barp – NF86SW 14). A number of dykes, field boundaries, jetties and dwellings, including a blackhouse, were also noted within 1km of the development boundary.

K MacDonald and R Rennell 2010

NF 8726 7470–NF 7463 1688 The 2022 field season for the Islands of Stone project set out to investigate a number of archaeological islets located in North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. The primary aim of this fieldwork was to identify datable material culture associated with crannogs (or artificial islands), with a particular focus on the Neolithic. The target sites were identified from a database of archaeological islets generated through a variety of means: evaluation of existing NRHE/HER records, data mining, machine learning and preliminary ground surveys carried out by the Uist Community Archaeology Group (UCAG). Most of the sites investigated were already recorded in the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) and/or Historic Environment Record (HER), but few had previously been surveyed in detail, with the majority having received only cursory investigation from the loch shore.

The 2022 field season managed to redress this limited knowledge by investigating 37 islets in 23 lochs. Twenty-five were previously known sites recorded in the NRHE/HER; the other 12 were ‘sites with potential’ newly identified through computer-based analysis of aerial imagery (machine learning).

Survey of all sites involved two primary aspects: above water and below water investigations. The primary means of investigation was in-water inspection. This was done on snorkel for shallower sites and on SCUBA for deeper sites by a team of five divers. When deemed useful and feasible, aerial (UAV) photogrammetry and LiDAR surveys, as well as on-islet in-person inspections, were conducted to provide further information regarding the nature and construction of each islet (and perhaps indications of period, if the surface supported structures). In total, Neolithic pottery was recovered from three lochs, and one new site (which produced Iron Age pottery) was identified. Numerous additional sites produced pottery (and other material culture) and/or organics that are still being analysed. More detailed reporting will be available once analysis is completed.

Previously-known sites visited (Grid Reference, Site Name,

Canmore ID):

NF 74696 75332, Eilean Domhnuill, 10069

NF 76612 74375, Loch nan Gearrachun, 10087

NF 76752 74189, Loch nan Gearrachun, 10076

NF 7678 7382, Loch nan Clachan, 10094

NF 8075 7266, Dun Eashader, 10375

NF 8726 7470, Oban Trumisgarry, 10353

NF 89076 74551, Dunan Dubh, 10367

NF 89309 74168, Loch an Duin, 10351

NF 89612 73914, Loch Bru, 10369

NF 8075 6450, Clachan, 10256

NF 8456 5757, Loch An Fhaing, 10191

NF 7985 4916, Gunisary Bay, 9922

NF 7969 4592, Loch an Daill, 9921

NF 76707 35686, Tobha Bheag, 270754

NF 76800 35678, Tobha Bheag, 270753

NF 76 30, Ormiclate, 9894

NF 74486 31154, Ormacleit, 270831

NF 7445 2723, Kildonan, 9846

NF 74824 25883, Loch Cnoc a’ Buidhe, 9826

NF 7427 1919, Eilean Chreamh, 9794

NF 7462 1907, Dun na Cille, 9788

NF 7468 1692, Loch an Eilean, 270796

NF 7463 1688, Loch an Eilean, 270812

NF 88885 73730, Dun Torcuill, 10364

NF 8430 6090, Dun Ban, 10261

Newly identified site (Grid Reference, Site Name, Canmore ID): NF 81130 48686, Ob Saile, 373291

Stephanie Blankshein, Duncan Garrow and Fraser Sturt – University of Southampton and University of Reading

(Source: DES Volume 23)