Monument record MHG3411 - Dun Mor

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NH 5347 4295 (156m by 190m) (Buffered by site type)
Map sheet NH54SW
Old County INVERNESS-SHIRE
Civil Parish KILTARLITY AND CONVINTH
Geographical Area INVERNESS

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

NH54SW 10 5340 4290.

(NH 5343 4290) Dun Mor (NAT) Fort (NR)
OS 25"map, (1969)

Dun Mor, the remains of a fort occupying a rocky table on the NE flank of Phoineas Hill. Details are difficult to determine but it appears to have comprised a "citadel" on the higher SW end of the crag with a "bailey" occupying the rest of the table to the NE.
The "citadel" is enclosed by a ruinous stone wall in which are several vitrified masses. Occasional outer but no inner facing stones can be seen. The entrance is in the E.
The "bailey", extending 440' to the NE, with an average width of 130', is bounded by traces of a wall or rampart which meets the wall of the citadel in the SE. This is shown as a vitrified wall on Wallace's plan (T Wallace 1921). The entrance was probably in the NE where a gentle gradient leads obliquely up to the SE flank of the crag. Crossing the bailey from NW-SE some 100' from the citadel, and defending it, are an ill-preserved pair of stony mounds spread to c. 10' wide, their centres 15' apart, and the space between slightly excavated. It is uncertain whether they are ramparts with a medial ditch, or a ditch with spoil heaps on either side. They are pierced by an entrance gap. The remains suggest that the "bailey" formed part of an original fort, and that the "citadel" with outer defences was secondary.
R W Feachem 1963; T Wallace 1921; Information from R W Feachem (Mss notes and plan) to OS.

The dunuded remains of a vitrified fort, enclosing an area measuring approximately 54.0m NE-SW by 27.0m, on the summit of a hill known a Dun Mor, and described by Feachem as the "citadel". The enclosing wall can be traced with difficulty as a slight turf-covered rise around the lip of the summit with only two pieces of vitrifaction on the SW and SE sides visible. It was probably entered from the E at the easiest approach, but there is an easy ascent to the NW side of the fort from the W, which could have been an entrance. In both of these sectors at a lower level are traces of outworks which appear to connect with natural outcrop and cliffs to form a complete encircling outer defence. In the E, this defence is evident as the two ramparts described by Feachem. In the W, it is a wall of which only the discontinuous outer face can be seen (shown on Wallace's sketch plan). Within the fort, below a low cliff, is a damp depression choked with vegetation; it may have been a cistern.
There is now no trace of fortification around the "bailey". At its lowest point is a waterlogged depression, shown as a waterhole or well on Feachem's and Wallace's plans.
There is nothing to suggest that the "citadel" and bailey were not comtemporary. (Visited by OS (R D) 21 January 1965)
Resurveyed at 1:2500.(Visited by OS (R D) 21 January 1965)
Visited by OS (N K B) 11 December 1970

Sources/Archives (5)

  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Dun Mor, Cabrich.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Dun Mor : Fort Plan, Cabrich.. Colour Slide; Digital Image. .
  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Wallace, T. 1921. 'Archaeological notes', Trans Inverness Sci Soc Fld Club, Vol. 8 1912-18, p.87-136. 95-7; plan 96.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: Feachem, R W. 1963. A Guide to Prehistoric Scotland. 1st. 126.
  • --- Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1979. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The archaeological sites and monuments of North-east Inverness, Inverness District, Highland Region. . 16, No. 96.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

May 17 2016 12:40PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.