Dun Skeig is an oval

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

dun A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish language, Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), ...

(fort) complex which is perched atop a rocky outcropping about above sea level overlooking

West Loch Tarbert West Loch Tarbert ( gd, Loch A Siar) is a sea loch that separates the northern and southern parts of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. A small isthmus joins these two areas, on which is to be found the village of Tarbert. The loch contai ...

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, about northwest of the village of

Clachan A clachan ( ga, clochán or ; gd, clachan ; gv, claghan ) is a small settlement or hamlet on the island of Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. Though many were originally kirktowns,MacBain, A. (1911) ''An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaeli ...

. The dun site includes a collection of prehistoric buildings and evidence of human habitation. Most notable of the buildings on the site are a rocky

fort and a

vitrified Vitrification (from Latin language, Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French language, French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non-Crystallinity, crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses ...

fort that has been grown over with ground vegetation. The Iron Age fort measures about in diameter with an outer wall of thick and has a single entrance. The moderately challenging climb to the peak and the views of the surrounding landscape that the vantage point offers make it clear why the site was selected as a defensive position.

Other nearby prehistoric sites

Other nearby sites on the

Kintyre Peninsula Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...

include: *

Avinagillan Standing Stone The Avinagillan standing stone is a prehistoric menhir on the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland. The stone is near the hamlet of Avinagillan.Megalithic Portal See also * Kilbrannan Sound Kilbrannan Sound (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Caolas Branndanach'' ...

* Ballochroy Standing Stones * Corriechrevie Cairn.

References

* ''Treasures of Britain'' (1968) Drive Publications, Automobile Association, p. 171
Historic Environment Scotland, Canmore Database
{{Portal bar, Scotland Buildings and structures in Argyll and Bute Kintyre Hill forts in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Scotland