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Dun Davie is a Iron Age fort located in Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. The monument is protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Historic Environment Scotland (reference SM3301), recognising its significance as a defensive settlement from the pre-Roman Iron Age. The fort sits upon bedrock of the Moine Supergroup, ancient metamorphic rocks formed during the Neoproterozoic era and composed of gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite, which provide a naturally firm foundation typical of the Highlands.
As an Iron Age fort, Dun Davie would have served as a fortified settlement providing defence and administrative function for a local community. Such forts typically feature defensive ramparts or stone walls and occupy prominent positions in the landscape. The geological substrate of metamorphic rock would have presented both opportunities and constraints for construction, offering a stable base but requiring skill to work with the hard, banded stone.
The survival of Dun Davie reflects the enduring nature of Iron Age fortifications in northern Scotland. Its scheduled status ensures protection and recognition of its place within the archaeological heritage of Inverness-shire, where Iron Age settlement patterns and defensive structures remain significant to understanding early Scottish society.
Dun Davie,fort is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3301. View the official record →
Dun Davie is a Iron Age fort located in Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3301.
Dun Davie,fort dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a fort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dun Davie,fort 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 SM3301.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Craggie Cottage, settlement cairns and field system 600m SW of (1.6 km), Mid Craggie, cairn 90m E of (1.8 km), Mid Lairgs, bridge and military road 200m SSE of (3.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dun Davie,fort'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 Davie,fort stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite.