Rahoy
Dun (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Rahoy
Classification Dun (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Torr An Fhamhair; Loch Teacuis
Canmore ID 22470
Site Number NM65NW 2
NGR NM 63300 56440
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/22470
- Council Highland
- Parish Morvern
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Lochaber
- Former County Argyll
On a small conical hill overlooking the narrow entrance to Loch Teacuis, a vitrified dun, undateable, but possibly as early as 7/6th century bc; excavated somewhat heavy-handedly, 1930s.
Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
NM65NW 2 6330 5644
(NM 6329 5643) Dun (NR) (remains of)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1974)
Dun, Rahoy: This dun stands on the summit of Torr an Fhamhair, a small steep-sided hill situated 700m W of Rahoy, overlooking the N side of Loch Teacuis from a height of 45m OD. Excavations were carried out here in 1936 and 1937 by V G Childe and W Thorneycroft, and the following description and plan are based largely on the published report (Childe and Thorneycroft 1938).
In spite of the obvious disturbance caused by the excavations, the dun still appears much as it did before they took place. The grass-grown bank that largely conceals the wall is about 7m thick at the base and stands to a maximum height of 1.5m internally and 3.2m externally, while the enclosed area is about 12m in diameter. Sections cut through the wall, with the help of 'dynamite and a sledgehammer', revealed a mass of vitrified stones in the heart of the core material, and considerable expanses of vitrifaction have been left exposed round the outer perimeter, the most impressive portion being on the N side. Cavities found within the vitrified material were recognised as the slots that had contained wooden beams, up to 150mm thick, disposed both radially and parallel to the line of the wall, indicating that it had been timber-laced. Although no convincing stretches of either inner or outer facing-stones were found in position, there was evidence that the wall had originally been faced on both sides, and that it had measured at least 3m, and possibly as much as 3.7m, in thickness. The position of the entrance was not established. Within the interior the surface of the natural rock was so uneven that it had been necessary to quarry away several projecting bosses and to fill the hollows with rubble; the resulting surface had then been covered with timbers, which in turn supported an earthen floor. In the middle of the interior there was a paved area measuring about 4.3m across, with a rectangular stone hearth standing in the centre. Some 3m E of the hearth, and underneath the floor, there was an irregular chamber measuring 1.5m in length, from 0.3m to 1.5m in breadth, and 0.6m in depth, and roofed by heavy paving- stones; its function is unknown, but it may have served as a cellar or oven. Childe believed that the whole of the interior had been roofed with turf carried on rafters springing from the dun wall and having their inner ends supported by posts set round the hearth; the stumps of two posts, which may have served this purpose, were found near the W edge of the central paved area.
The whole of the interior was cleared down to the natural rock surface, but yielded only a few relics (which are now in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS - Accession nos: HH 419-23). These comprised a flint scraper; two broken saddle querns; a looped and socketed iron axehead; part of a bronze brooch of La Tene Ic type; and a number of burnt animal bones. There was no pottery. Some indication of the date of the dun is provided by the axehead and the brooch, both of which are likely to belong to the 3rd century BC.
V G Childe and W Thorneycroft 1938; RCAHMS 1980, visited 1980.
A vitrified dun.
Surveyed at 1:10,000.
Visited by OS (N K B) 16 June 1970.
This dun was recorded during a pre-afforestation survey on the Rahoy Estate. It measures roughly 12m in diameter within a turf- and bracken-covered bank up to 0.7m in width and 1.5m in height. The margins of the site are inundated with bracken and seedlings of birch and ash are also present.
C Lowe and J Wordsworth (Headland Archaeology) 25 May 1999; NMRS MS 899/147, no.17
Excavation (2 July 1936 - 22 July 1936)
Excavations supervised by Childe and W Thorneycroft.
V G Childe 1938
Excavation (17 June 1937 - 30 June 1937)
Excavations supervised by Childe and W Thorneycroft.
V G Childe 1938
Publication Account (2007)
NM65 1 RAHOY
NM/6330 5644
This vitrified dun or massive stone roundhouse stands on top of a small, steep-sided hill overlooking the north side of Loch Teacuis; it was thoroughly excavated by V G Childe and W Thorneycroft in 1936 and 1937 and a brief description is included here because of its close resemblance to the massive-walled wooden roundhouse Tor a’ Chorcain in Sutherland (NC40 4). In addition, although C-14 dating was of course not available in the late 1930s, some characteristic early Iron Age artifacts were found which were not present at the Sutherland site.
Description
The extensive vitrification shows that the stone wall was originally laced with timber beams, like the much larger hillforts in the eastern lowlands. The burning of a timber-framed wall is generally agreed to produce patches of vitrification and at this site the destruction by fire has reduced the wall to a grass-grown bank.
The excavations failed to find any surviving wallfaces even after breaking through the remains with “dynamite and a sledge hammer” [2]. Traces of the slots for wooden beams up to 15cm (6 in) thick were observed. The estimated thickness of the original wall was from 3 - 3.7m. The position of the entrance was not established. The enclosed central area measured about 12.9m (42.3 ft) in diameter – very large for a roundhouse.
In the Central court it was found that the uneven rock-surface has been levelled by chipping away projecting lumps and filling hollows with rubble; timbers had been laid in this surface and an earth floor was on top of these. A rectangular stone hearth was found in the centre with an area of paving around it. The stumps of two posts were found near the west edge of the hearth, which Childe thought were evidence for supports for a timber-framed thatched roof covering the whole enclosed area.
Although the whole of the floor deposits were cleared away few finds appeared. They included a flint scraper, two broken saddle querns, a looped and socketed iron axehead, part of the bow and spring of a bronze brooch of La Tène 1 type and some burnt animal bones. There was no pottery.
Discussion
The building seems best interpreted as a wooden roundhouse with a thatched roof and a central hearth, protected by a massive timber-framed wall. Rahoy, with Tor a’Chorcain, illustrates an alternative route towards the stone-walled wooden round-house to that which led to the broch tower; in its case the timber-framed wall which had been used extensively for large and small hillforts in the eastern side of the country (MacKie 1977) was adapted for the purpose.
The socketed iron axe and the La Tène 1 brooch are the only clues as to the date of Rahoy and in 1955, making the then usual assumptions about the delay of southern artifacts arriving in the north, Stevenson estimated a date for the brooch in the 3rd century BC [4]. This fits well with the C-14 evidence for Tor a’ Chorcain (NC40 4). However the iron axe may indicate an earlier date. It is modelled on a late Bronze Age socketed axe of a type which seems to have disappeared from use in Scotland in the 6th or early 5th centuries BC, and a date for the iron copy in the 5th century seems very likely.
Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NM 65 NW 2: 2. Childe and Thorneycroft 1938: 3. Childe 1946, 88-9: 4. Stevenson 1966, 20: 5. RCAHMS 1980, 115, no. 22 and fig. 139: 6. Nisbet, Helen C 1975, 12, no. 25. More references are to be found in [1].
E W MacKie 2007
