Lismore, Loch Fiart, An Dun

The valley of the outflow stream near the NE end of the loch forms a precipitous ravine through the high ridge that bounds the loch on the SE. The dun occupies the extremity thus formed, defended on the NW, NE and SE by very steep and precipitous slopes . It appears as a saucer- topped, circular mound about 72 ft. in diameter over all. The ‘rim’ of the saucer is a grass-grown stony bank rising as much as 4 ft. above the level interior on the W but elsewhere scarcely perceptible. All round the N half of the circle sections of built outer face are exposed at intervals through the turf, on the steep slope at the W extending more than 4ft below the turf surface in the centre. Here , about 7 ft in from the outer face, the top of a gallery some l ft. 4 in. wide is exposed for a distance of 7 ft and it continues, lintelled over both N and S, though it is not accessible without excavation being choked with debris to within 18" of the solid lintels. There i s a gap to the NE that probably marks the line of the entry but only on its N side is there even a possible exposure of part of the passage face. The slopes of the mound are littered with fallen stones now firmly embedded in turf, and the interior is probably filled with debris to a substantial depth. So the structure night very well prove to be a broch.

Visited by RCAHMS 13 July 1943.

NM 811 376. The remains of what is probably a broch with outworks (Fig. 43) stand on the NE end of a ridge overlooking Loch Fiart from a height of about 35 m OD. The steep sides of the ridge afford strong natural protection in all directions except the NE and SW, but additional defences have been drawn across the ridge only on the N. As a result of stone-robbing the remains now consist largely of a heavy band of grass-grown rubble representing the core material of a substantial wall; standing to a height of 1'2 m above the interior, it encloses a roughly circular area measuring about 13 m in diameter. Round the NW half of the perimeter some stretches of the outer face of the wall are exposed, standing at best to a height of 0·8 m in three courses. The only visible inner facing-stones, however, are on the W, where the wall has a thickness of about 4'9 m. The entrance is on the NE; only one of the side-slabs of the passage can be seen but originally it was at least 3.6 m in length and 1.5 m in width. Within the thickness of the wall on the W side a narrow lintelled gallery, measuring 0'4 m in width, can be traced for a distance of 6 m. Its depth cannot be determined without excavation as it is choked with debris to within 0'7 m of the underside of the lintels. The narrowness of this gallery indicates that, as at the broch No. 147 [Tirefour], its function must have been structural.

Additional defences, designed to protect the entrance, have been drawn across the ridge on the N, thus cutting off a flat shelf some 4.6 m below the broch. The remains of a wall run round the perimeter of this shelf, and stretches of outer facing-stones may be seen on the NW with a thin spread of debris behind them; on the NE it survives as a low stony bank interrupted by a wide gap in line with the entrance to the broch. About 2 m below the level of this shelf, a further platform has been bordered by a wall now reduced to a band of stony debris, and likewise interrupted by a gap at its E end.

RCAHMS 1975, visited May 1968.

Surveyed with alidade and plane-table at 1mm:1ft. Redrawn in ink and published at the reduced scale of 1:1000 (RCAHMS 1975, fig. 43).

NM83 1 AN DUN 7

NM/8113 3768

This probable broch in Lismore and Appin is near the south-west end of the island and stands on the north-east end of a ridge, the steep sides of which give good protection except in the north-east and south-west. The main building is badly ruined and only a few stretches of the outer wallface can be seen. There are clear signs of a 6m length of mural gallery on the west but the inner wallface is largely invisible, a few remaining on the west where the wall thickness is some 4.94. The entrance seems to be in the north-east but only one facing slab can be seen. The remains of an outer wall run round the edge of the summit on the north and north-west and there appears to be a short extension inwards from this to form an extra protection for the entrance.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NM 83 NW 5: 2. RCAHMS 1975, 75, no. 146 and fig. 43.

E W MacKie 2007