Dùn Morbhaidh, also known as Dun Borbaidh, is a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

located on the

Inner Hebridean The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

island of

Coll Coll (; )Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and fo ...

. The early 20th century

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

Erskine Beveridge considered it as one of the four most interesting fortifications on Coll (along with Dùn an Achaidh,

Dùn Anlaimh Dùn Anlaimh, also known as Dùn Amhlaidh, and Eilean nan Cinneachan, is a crannog (an artificial island), located within Loch nan Cinneachan on the Inner Hebrides, Inner Hebridean island of Coll. Upon the crannog there are the remains of walls a ...

, and

Dùn Dubh Dùn Dubh is a hillfort, located on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll. The fort is one of three associated with a local tradition which states that they were once the fortresses of Norsemen before being defeated by a Maclean chieftain. The earl ...

). The site is located at .

Etymology

The early 20th century antiquary Erskine Beveridge stated his opinion that the correct name for Dùn Morbhaidh was ''Dun Borbaidh''; and in consequence, the name which appeared on maps was probably incorrect. He stated that the fort takes its name from the nearby Eilean Borbaidh, and Traigh Bhorbaidh; and that the local pronunciation was "Borow", or "Borive". Beveridge noted that "Borive" resembles several other Hebridean placenames; and that it appeared to be derived from the

Norse language Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''borg''.

Location

Dùn Morbhaidh is located northeast of Gallanach, on

. The site is located at .

Description

Dùn Morbhaidh sits atop a craggy hill, close to the shore. The highest part of the site is located on the west-side and the summit; and measures about . This part is guarded on the western side by a wall, which only traces of survive. Two short lengths of the outer face of this wall are visible, and stand at a maximum height of , in three courses. The eastern half of the hill is made up of a series of slopes, terraces, and outcrops. There is visible evidence of the remains of two more walls. The medial wall is, for the most part, placed around a terrace; though it also appears in a narrow gap on the northern part of the same terrace. The outer wall is located around the foot of the hill and faces level ground. Only traces of this wall are visible: on one side of the entrance, and an outer stretch of facing stones are also visible.

Archaeological finds

Beveridge found the remains of

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

material, small rounded pebbles, and the abundance of

hammerstone In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wo ...

s (many of which were broken) at the site. He also found several examples of

potsherd This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

decorated with incised patterns and finger-impressed cordons. Beveridge considered that some of the finds had been subjected to fire; in his mind, similar to the foundations he described at Dùn an Achaidh. Two of the potsherds bear the incised figures of deer; and are currently kept in the

National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

. According to Richard Hingley, potsherd decorated with figures of deer have been found in a number of archaeological sites in the Hebrides (on

Bragar Bragar (, ) is a village on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, from the island's only town, Stornoway. Bragar is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the A858 between Carloway and Barvas. Residents ...

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

; Kilpheder,

South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

; Galson, Lewis; and Dùn Morbhaidh). Hingley stated that this would seem to indicate an importance of hunting in some of the Iron Age communities in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

. The site was visited, in 1972, by the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

, which noted that the site was "probably a dun with

outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structur ...

s". No trace of any midden was found on the site. In 1995, M. W. Holley found some potsherd on the site, located at .

Tradition

Beveridge stated that there was no tradition associated with the fort itself, though he noted that one concerned a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

beneath it. This cave was to have extended from its entrance, on the rocky shore, to far inland. According to Beveridge, the cave was said to have been the scene of a massacre of many natives of the area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dun Morbhaidh Archaeological sites in the Northern Inner Hebrides Coll Former populated places in Scotland Hill forts in Scotland