Mull, Eilean Nan Gibneach

NM 399 189

Enclosure, Eilean nan Gibneach

This enclosure occupies the summit of a rocky boss near the base of the coastal promontory of Eilean nan Gibneach, about 400m ENE of Port Uisken. It stands only 3.3m above the level of the col on the N, or landward, side and only a little more above the adjacent part of the spine to the S, but on the E and W there are precipitous slopes and sheer rock-faces up to 9m high. Irregular on plan, the enclosure measures approximately 16.5m from N to S by 15m transversely within the remains of a single dry-stone wall. Where best preserved, the wall appears as a bank of stony debris 1.9m thick and 0.8m high, but for a considerable length on the NW it has been totally destroyed, having probably collapsed over the edge of the cliff. Several short stretches of the outer face have survived in position, as shown on the plan, and at the entrance, situated on the E, where the wall terminals are disposed at right angles to each other, stones of each side-wall of the passage can also be seen. Those on the N side of the entrance are founded upon a rocky outcrop, but the sole example on the opposite side takes the form of an upright slab; similar orthostatic construction occurs in the outer face immediately SSE of the entrance - a possible indication that the wall, in this sector at least, was not carried to any great height.

The interior of the enclosure is rocky and uneven, and contains no traces of dwellings.

RCAHMS 1980, visited July 1973