Skye, Dun Raisaburgh

Dun Raisaburgh.

At Raisaburgh, some 400 yards south-south-west of Loch Mealt, is a narrow, rocky ridge running almost due north and south, and rising from 30 to 50 feet above the surrounding moorland. Near its southern end, though not on the highest point, are the scanty ruins of a broch, Dun Raisaburgh. The wall is quite broken down on the east side, but for the remaining part of its circumference the outer face is still traceable; the inner face is quite indistinguishable, being either destroyed or covered with debris. On the south two and three courses of the outer face remain, on the west only the foundation course is traceable, but on the north about 2 feet of building appears above the debris which has accumulated at the bottom of the wall to a depth of some 2 or 3 feet. The external diameter of the building, which is measurable only from north to south, is 53 feet 3 inches. A length of 22 feet of a gallery in the thickness of the wall on the northern arc is clearly defined, its outer wall reaching a height of 3 feet in places. As the inner wall is much disturbed it is impossible to obtain the width of the gallery or the complete thickness of the wall of the broch. The entrance cannot be identified.

An outer defence crosses the ridge some 32 feet 6 inches south of the main building. It takes the form of a stone wall some 6 feet thick, now practically reduced to the foundation. This wall appears to have returned northwards along the eastern edge of the ridge as far as the chief structure, but on the west side, which is higher and steeper at this part, there is no appearance of a wall. Some 25 feet north of the broch there are very faint indications of another outer wall thrown across the ridge.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 31 August 1915.

OS map: Skye viii.

NG56 2 DUN RAISABURGH

NG/5032 6427

This probable broch in Kilmuir, Skye, stands on a narrow rocky ridge about 30m wide and 400m south-west of Loch Mealt (and Dun Grianan, above: NG56 1) and which rises 10.7 - 15.3m (35 - 50 ft) above the moor. The scanty remains of the structure are near the south of the end of this ridge but not on the highest point. The east side is broken down but there may be 1.53m (5 ft) of masonry standing on the north side, the lowest 60 - 90cm (2 - 3 ft) of which are buried below debris. A length of wall gallery is visible for 6.7m (22 ft) on the north-east arc and its outer wall is 90cm (3 ft) high in places [4, plan].

The entrance passage may be on the south-east where two parallel faces can be seen within the wall. The inner face of the broch wall is visible only in the south (at about 7 o'clock) for a short distance with traces of an irregular oval cell behind this [4, plan]. A lintelled doorway gives access from the interior to this cell which seems to have been exposed fairly recently. Itmay also be a guard cell for the broch entrance passage [4].

An outer wall 1.83m (6 ft) thick, and now reduced to foundation level, can be seen 9.9m (32.5 ft) south of the main building. It runs across the ridge and seems to return north on the east edge towards the broch. There are faint signs of another outer wall 7.6m (25 ft) north of the broch. More details of these features are given by Swanson [4].

Dimensions: external diameter from north to south 16.24m (53 ft 3 in) [2], or 17m [4]. The wall is about 3.2-3.4m thick on the south [4].

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NG 56 SW 1: 2. RCAHMS 1928, 169, no. 540: 3. MacSween 1984-85, 44, no. 20 and fig. 20: 4. Swanson (ms) 1985, 822-24 and plan.

E W MacKie 2007