Scheduled Maintenance
Please be advised that this website will undergo scheduled maintenance on the following dates: •
Tuesday 3rd December 11:00-15:00
During these times, some services may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Skye, Dun Diarmaid
Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Dun (Prehistoric)(Possible)
Site Name Skye, Dun Diarmaid
Classification Broch (Iron Age)(Possible), Dun (Prehistoric)(Possible)
Canmore ID 11048
Site Number NG33NE 2
NGR NG 3545 3816
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/11048
- Council Highland
- Parish Bracadale
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Skye And Lochalsh
- Former County Inverness-shire
NG33NE 2 3545 3816.
(NG 3545 3816) Dun Diarmaid (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)
Dun Diarmaid, the stones of which have been nearly all removed, crowns a rocky knoll above Loch Beag. It is of small size, oval on plan, measuring internally c. 29' E-W x 25' N-S. The foundation stones on the outside of the W arc remain in position, and the corresponding stones on the inside of the SE curve. The entrance lies on the S, and is quite destroyed, but the wall on the W side of this shows enough building in position to indicate a wall thickness of 11'3". Apparently it has been of less strength at other parts. The summit of the rock is very irregular, for on the W side it stands some 5' higher than the tumbled material in the interior of the dun.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 1915.
Dun Diarmaid is probably a broch. The outer and inner wall faces survive intermittently in the N, W, and S giving an internal diameter N-S of 8.0m with the wall 3.1m thick in the N and 3.5m in the S. In the E, the wall has incorporated outcrop rock and the outer part has completely disappeared though the inner face may be partly in situ under turf-covered debris. The entrance is in the W, but has tumbled and its footings are obscured by debris; here the wall is 3.6m thick. No intra-mural features are visible.
Visited by OS (A A) 5 November 1971.
Field Visit (18 May 1915)
Dun Diarmaid, Coillore.
On the eastern shore of Loch Beag, at Coillore, is a rocky knoll rising about 30 feet above the loch and some 8 feet above the land to the south. It is crowned by Dun Diarmaid, the stones of which have nearly all been removed. The dun is of small size and is oval on plan, measuring internally some 29 feet from east to west, and 25 feet from north to south. The foundation stones on the outside of the western arc remain in position, and the corresponding stones on the inside of the south-eastern curve. The entrance lies on the south side and is quite destroyed, but the wall on the west side of this shows enough building in position to indicate a thickness of wall at this part of 11 feet 3 inches. Apparently it has been of less strength at other parts. The summit of the rock is very irregular, for on the west side it stands some 5 feet higher than the tumbled material in the interior of the dun.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 18 May 1915.
OS map: Skye xxviii.
Publication Account (2007)
NG33 4 DUN DIARMAID
NG/3545 3816
The remains of a possible broch or dun [3] stand on an irregular rocky knoll in Bracadale, Skye. The building has been oval and the entrance has been on the west-south-west [4] but is destroyed; however enough remains to indicate a length of 3.43m (11 ft 3in); another source says 3.7m [4]. A more recent account says that the outer and inner wallfaces survive in places [1]. On the south side the wall is only about 2.2m [4], somewhat thin for a broch. On the other hand a scarcement about 45cm wide has been observed on the inner wallface on the south side, at about 3 o'clock [4, plan].
Dimensions: the internal diameter is 8.85m (29 ft) east-west and 7.63m (25 ft) north-south [2]. Swanson gives the north-south measurement as 8m below scarcement level [4].
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 33 NE 2: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 145, no. 485: 3. MacSween 1984-85, 44, no. 23: 4. Swanson 1985 (ms), 886 and plan.
E W MacKie 2007
Publication Account (2007)
NG33 4 DUN DIARMAID
NG/3545 3816
The remains of a possible broch or dun [3] stand on an irregular rocky knoll in Bracadale, Skye. The building has been oval and the entrance has been on the west-south-west [4] but is destroyed; however enough remains to indicate a length of 3.43m (11 ft 3in); another source says 3.7m [4]. A more recent account says that the outer and inner wallfaces survive in places [1]. On the south side the wall is only about 2.2m [4], somewhat thin for a broch. On the other hand a scarcement about 45cm wide has been observed on the inner wallface on the south side, at about 3 o'clock [4, plan].
Dimensions: the internal diameter is 8.85m (29 ft) east-west and 7.63m (25 ft) north-south [2]. Swanson gives the north-south measurement as 8m below scarcement level [4].
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 33 NE 2: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 145, no. 485: 3. MacSween 1984-85, 44, no. 23: 4. Swanson 1985 (ms), 886 and plan.
E W MacKie 2007
