© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Dun Ardtreck is a galleried dun situated in Inverness-shire on the Isle of Skye. This Iron Age fortress belongs to a distinctive class of Scottish brochs and duns characterised by hollow-walled construction, with a gallery running through the thickness of the wall itself. The dun stands on bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff formed during intense volcanic activity tens of millions of years before human settlement. This dark basaltic landscape would have been familiar to Iron Age inhabitants, providing both defensive advantages and distinctive local stone for construction.
Galleried duns like Ardtreck represent a concentrated phase of fort-building across the Hebrides and northern Scotland, typically dating between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD. These structures served as defended settlements for local elites, their stone walls rising several metres high. The gallery within the wall may have provided storage, refuge, or served structural purposes in bracing the massive stone construction. The thickness of such walls—often 4 metres or more—made them formidable defensive structures.
Dun Ardtreck is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM7120, recognising its national archaeological significance. The dun survives as a tangible record of Iron Age settlement patterns and architectural achievement in the Scottish islands, demonstrating how prehistoric communities engineered impressive stone defences using locally available volcanic stone.
Dun Ardtreck, galleried dun, Skye is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7120. View the official record →
Dun Ardtreck is a galleried dun situated in Inverness-shire on the Isle of Skye. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM7120.
Dun Ardtreck, galleried dun, Skye dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a galleried dun, skye. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dun Ardtreck, galleried dun, Skye is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM7120.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Struanmore, chambered cairn 800m SW of Struan Primary School (1.8 km), Ullinish Lodge,chambered cairn,Bracadale (2.4 km), Ullinish,fort,Bracadale (2.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dun Ardtreck, galleried dun, Skye's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Dun Ardtreck, galleried dun, Skye stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.