Dun Ardtreck

Dun Ardtreck is a D-shaped fort on the Minginish peninsula of the Isle of Skye. It stands on a rocky knoll at the edge of a cliff above the sea. The straight side of the dun faces the sheer cliffs, while the curved side looks inland. A narrow outer wall runs along much of the knoll’s landward edge. The entrance is on the southeast side, where a small cleft in the rock once served as an outer gateway. The site commands wide views over the sea and the surrounding hills. Excavations led by Euan W. MacKie in 1964–65 showed the dun was built in two phases. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the first platform gave a date of 115 BC. That phase ended violently, with signs of burning on the floor. Pottery from the second phase dates to the middle of the 2nd century AD. Finds included iron tools, bronze ornaments, glass ring-heads, Roman Samian ware sherds and a piece of a Roman bead. Visitors walk up to the knoll and see the well-preserved entrance passage with its door-checks. Inside, the thick drystone walls enclose a small area of about 13 by 10 metres. Traces of an intramural gallery remain, with two doorways into the wall. One doorway widens as if for a stone stair, though no steps survive. The wall is low at the cliff edge but rises several feet at the entrance. The site offers quiet views over the sea and the rugged Skye landscape.