Dunbeg ( gd, An Dùn Beag), formerly known as Dunstaffnage ( gd, Dùn Stafhainis or ''Dùn Staidhinis''), is a village about outside of

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

, Scotland. It has a population of just under 1,000. It is home to the

Scottish Association for Marine Science The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is one of Europe's leading marine science research organisations, one of the oldest oceanographic organisations in the world and is Scotland's largest and oldest independent marine science org ...

(SAMS), one of the primary marine science centres in the UK. Also near Dunbeg is

Dunstaffnage Castle Dunstaffnage Castle ( gd, Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loc ...

, part of the Campbell Clan and is owned by the Captain of Dunstaffnage.

Archaeology

Archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

s in 2010, by Argyll Archaeology, in advance of the development of the European Marine Science Park found evidence that people were also living in the area from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

to the Early Historic periods. The archaeologists discovered funerary pyres, and an infant burial, that were in use for several generations during the Late

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 ...

and a farmstead in use sometime between the late 7th to 9th centuries AD. The end of activity on the site roughly coincides with documented attacks on Iona by Norse invaders in 795, 802, 806 and 825. A Norse presence in the areas was found in the form of a fragment of copper alloy Viking ring money by a metal detectorist before the excavation.

Landmarks

Primary School

Dunbeg Primary School is a single storey building originally opened in 1960. In 2021 it had places for 141 children of all denominations from P1-7, it also provides preschool education with spaces for 20 3–5 year olds.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science

It is one of Europe's leading marine science research organisations, one of the oldest oceanographic organisations in the world and is Scotland's largest and oldest independent marine science organisation.

Dunstaffnage Castle

The castle dates back to the 13th century, making it one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in a local group which includes

Castle Sween Castle Sween, also known as Caisteal Suibhne, and Caistéal Suibhne, is located on the eastern shore of Loch Sween, in Knapdale, south of the forestry village of Achnamara on the west coast of Argyll, Scotland. Castle Sween is thought to be one ...

and

Castle Tioram Castle Tioram () ( gd, Caisteal Tioram, meaning "dry castle") is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is located west of Acharacle, approximately from Fort William. Thou ...

Climate

References

* Villages in Argyll and Bute {{Argyll-geo-stub