North Uist, Vallay Sound, Dun Thomaidh

Dun Tomi (Thomaidh), Vallay Sound.

On a small island in Vallay Sound, the narrow strait separating the island of Vallay from Griminish, are the ruins of Dun Thomaidh. The place is in a very dilapidated condition, but apparently consisted of two concentric walls, the outer ringing the island within high-waterl evel, the inner surrounding a house and some other smaller buildings. This inner enclosure is about 50 feet in diameter over walls. On the north-east and southern arcs sections of the outer face, built of large blocks of stone, remain in position at most up to 3 feet. Its distance from the outer enclosure, measured between the faces, varies from 15 feet on the south to 30 feet on the west. On the east side of the dun are indications of a small harbour or boat entrance extending outwards into the water, but at low tide this must have been dry. The dun is connected with a tidal islet on the southern shore of Vallay to the north by a massive causeway 87 yards long and about 10 feet wide, a gap of 12 feet occurring near the island end of this structure. In all probability this gap is part of the original structure, but it may have been widened at a later period to permit the passage of boats. Stones from this place are reported to have been “carried away to build a house at Vallay” (1).

RCAHMS 1928, visited 29 July 1914.

OS map: North Uist xxx.

(1) Archaeal. Scot., V., p. 402

NF77 4 DUN THOMAIDH ('Dun Tomi')

NF/759758

This probable ground-galleried broch, or galleried dún, in North Uist was cleared out by Beveridge in 1914, after the publication of his North Uist. His death in 1920 prevented his publication of such later explorations but Graham Callendar (then Director of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, in Edinburgh) was able, with the help of notes and draft reports, to compile a brief account of the work on this site and on several others [4].

Description: the site stands on a small tidal islet in Vallay Sound, on top of a steep summit, and is connected to the shore by a massive causeway 85m (87 yds) long and from 2.3 - 2.9m (7.5 - 9.5 ft) wide which is exposed at low tide. An outer wall surrounds the islet much lower down than the dún, near sea level.

Although the dún, the outer wall and some buildings in between were uncovered in two weeks of excavation Beveridge did not distinguish any straight joints or bonding in the stonework but simply drew everything as a single complex of masonry. As a result it is difficult to separate out the various structural features of the site. The central circular dún was about 15.25m (50 ft) in diameter overall and seems to have had its entrance facing east, towards a small boat harbour. There appeared to be a gallery within the wall and the interior was clogged with what we would now interpret as secondary structures (Illus. 9.000). A lintelled drain ran from the interior, under the main wall and down towards the sea. There was a series of other chambers outside the dún on the western side.

Comment: it is difficult to make sense of this site structurally. Considering only the finds, and assuming that a reasonable proportion were recovered, their scarcity may be significant. The sharp contrast with Foshigarry (below, also excavated by Beveridge), and in particular the apparent absence of pottery, may be telling us that Dun Thomaidh does not belong with the standard 'broch-wheelhouse' middle Iron Age culture of the Western Isles. Unfortunately we shall never know either way without fresh excavations.

Finds: these were few and lack precise locations on the site; they may therefore be of various ages unless of well known types. With the excavation methods adopted it must be assumed that only a proportion of the artifacts was recovered.

Iron fragments included broken rivets.

Bronze: 1 broken needle of unspecified type.

Bone: 1 handle on the floor of the interior, 1 shaped and hollowed antler tine, and 1 possible double-ended chisel.

Stone included 10 hammerstones, 1 broken whetstone, 4 socket stones (pre-sumably pivot stones), 1 broken rotary quern, 2 broken saddle querns, and 1 piece of pumice.

Flint: 22 flakes.

Sources: 1. NMRS site no. NF 77 NE 7: 2. Beveridge 2001, 212-13: 3. RCAHMS 1928, 68, no. 212: 4. Beveridge and Callendar 1931, 312-22: 5. Scott 1948, 76-7: 6. Armit 1996.

E W MacKie 2007