Monument record MHG5728 - Dunan an Aisilidh

NG53NW 5 5320 3571.

(NG 5320 3571) Dunan an Aisilidh (NR)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)

Dunan an Aisilidh, a galleried dun,occupies the entire summit of an elevated flat-topped rock rising some 50' out of the sea. It is separated from the mainland on the S by a steep-sided dry rocky gully. While small sections of the outer foundation course and some irregular mounds of debris are all that remains on the E and N, enough of the wall remains on the SW quadrant to indic- ate its dimensions and character. The dun measures internally 51' EW, and averages 50' N-S, and the enclosing wall, which in general has been solid and about 7' thick, gradually increases to 12' on the SW, where it contains a gallery now almost filled with stones. The wll here shows some 3-4' of the outer face in position, while the inner portion rises about 4' above it. The entrance to the gallery from the enciente measures 2'6" in width, while the outer lintel is still in position. It penetrates the wall for a distance of 6' 7", and the gallery then branches off towards both E and W. The eastern end extends at least 18' in the curve of the wall. The outermost face of the gallery extension west- wards is entirely broken down, but the inside face remaining to a height of 3' 6" for a good length can be traced definitely for a distance of some 20'. The main entrance to the dun appears to have been in the western are immediately to the N of the gallery end. There is no trace of an entrance at the south-eastern or landward side of the dun. Outside the supposed entrance on the west the ground is less rough than at the other parts of the surroundings, and instead of being rocky falls in a gradual grass-covered descent. In the northern sector of the dun there is a hollow 5' in length and 3' 9" in breadth lined with stones, and the wall here follows the irregularities of the cliff edge.
Not a broch but contains features present in broch architecture (Graham 1949)
RCAHMS 1928; A Graham 1949.

Dunan an Aislidh: a galleried dun as described above, though now in a more ruinous state. 25.0m and 35.0m to the SE, beyond the gully, are two lines of large boulders, which may be in a natural arrangement, but may equally well represent remnants of outworks.
Visited by OS (A S P) 21 April 1961.