Lewis, Borrowston

NB14SE 4 1927 4217

See also NB14SE 8.

(NB 1927 4217) Dunan (NR) (Site of).

OS 6" map, (1965)

The foundation of what is supposed to be an old castle or fortress on a small headland which forms an island at high water.

Name Book 1850.

This dun must have been very small, probably a simple wall circumscribing the islet.

F W L Thomas 1890.

This site was obliterated when the new pier was built.

RCAHMS 1928, visited 1914.

No trace.

Visited by OS (RL) 18 June 1969.

Carloway Pier (NB14SE 8) was constructed in the late 19th century, partly demolishing what was believed to be an Iron Age dun occupying a commanding coastal position. Progress and commercial development wrought more damage when the pier was extended in 1991, without prior notification or consultation with archaeologists. During the course of the construction, large quantities of building stone and midden material were raised to the surface and dumped, destroying the content and context of important evidence of a prehistoric maritime settlement.

The debris was sifted through by local archaeologists after the damage had been done. Diving archaeologists later investigated the site and observed a curving line of loosely associated building stone outside of the channel cut for the pier extension, which warrants further inspection. Given that construction was extremely poor, further conclusions could not be drawn about the nature and extent of the dun's remains.

Sponsors: Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology, Edinburgh University.

B L Andrian and T N Dixon 1992.