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Skye, Dun Acardinon
Dun (Prehistoric)
Site Name Skye, Dun Acardinon
Classification Dun (Prehistoric)
Alternative Name(s) Carn Breac
Canmore ID 11550
Site Number NG60SW 1
NGR NG 6325 0305
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/11550
- Council Highland
- Parish Sleat
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Skye And Lochalsh
- Former County Inverness-shire
NG60SW 1 6325 0305.
(NG 6325 0305) On the S side of the small bay lying immediately to the S of Rudha Dubh, is a rocky plateau standing some 25-35ft above the sea, and connected with the land on the W side by a narrow neck. It is of very irregular outline, being almost split in two by a deep gully running in from the seaward side. Known usually as Carn Breac, but sometimes as Dun Acardinon, its defensive character is clearly indicated by a stone wall, whose grass-covered mound, some 12ft in width and 3ft high, can be traced on the W side standing on top of the scarp of the hollow outside measuring some 12ft deep. A portion of the ground occupied by this wall has been levelled to form a potato garden, and a section of the wall is exposed. The remains of a wall, now 6ft wide and 2ft high, are seen on the edge of the cliff on the SW, and there are traces of a similar construction to the NE. At this place there is a small terrace lying outside and about 10ft lower than the wall, which has also been defended by a breastwork built on the edge of the rock. The dun measures about 136ft E-W and 87 ft N-S.
(RCAHMS 1928).
Dun Acardinon, the remains of a dun, as described by RCAHMS, except that the 'section of wall exposed' is a modern revetment on the edge of the potato patch.
Visited by OS (A S P) 17 June 1961.
Field Visit (11 September 1915)
Dun, Carn Breac, Ardavasar.
On the south side of the small bay lying immediately to the south of Rudha Dubh, at Ardavasar, is a rocky plateau standing some 25 to 35 feet above the sea, and connected with the land on the west side by a narrow neck. It is of very irregular outline, being almost split in two by a deep gully running in from the seaward side. Known usually as Carn Breac, but sometimes as Dun Acardinon, its defensive character is clearly indicated by a stone wall, whose grass-covered mound, some 12 feet in width and 3 feet in height, can be traced on the westside standing on the top of the scarp of the hollow outside measuring some 12 feet deep. A portion of the ground occupied by this wall has been levelled to form a potato garden, and a section of the stone wall is exposed. The remains of a wall, now 6 feet wide and 2 feet high, are seen on the edge of the cliff on the south-south-west, and there are slight traces of a similar construction to the north-east. At this place there is a small terrace lying outside and about 10 feet lower than the wall, which has also been defended by a breastwork built on the edge of the rock. The dun measures about 136 feet from east to west and 87 feet from north to south.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 11 September 1915.
OS map: Skye lxiii (unnoted).
Note (22 January 2015 - 30 May 2016)
What may be a small promontory work is situated just above the rocky foreshore at Ardvasar. The remains are confused by modern walls associated with an old garden plot, but there is a wall spread some 3.6m in thickness cutting across the narrow neck of the promontory on the W. The interior, which measures a maximum of 26m from E to W by 24m transversely (0.4ha), is almost cut in two by a deep cleft running in from the seaward side on the SE.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 30 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC2739
