© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Dun Dearg is a Iron Age fort located 420 metres north of Valtos in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The monument sits upon bedrock comprising Middle Jurassic mudstone, sandstone and limestone, which has weathered to create the uneven ground characteristic of this geological zone in the Scottish Highlands. The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3518.
Iron Age forts of this type typically served as defended settlements or strongholds, commanding views of their surrounding landscape. The underlying Jurassic geology would have influenced both the fort's construction and its defensive capabilities, with the natural rock formations potentially incorporated into its fortifications. Such monuments are widespread across northern Scotland and represent an important phase of settlement and social organisation dating to the final centuries before the Roman period.
The specific topography and geology of Dun Dearg's location near Valtos would have made it a strategically significant position within the Iron Age landscape of the region. The fort's survival as an identifiable archaeological monument allows it to contribute to understanding settlement patterns and defensive strategies during this formative period of Highland history.
Dun Dearg,fort 420m N of Valtos is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3518. View the official record →
Dun Dearg is a Iron Age fort located 420 metres north of Valtos in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3518.
Dun Dearg,fort 420m N of Valtos dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a fort 420m n of valtos. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dun Dearg,fort 420m N of Valtos 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 SM3518.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dun Grianan,broch on N shore of Loch Mealt (1.3 km), Rubha Nam Brathairean, Dun Hasan and quern quarry (2.1 km), Garafad School,homestead 740m NE of (3.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dun Dearg,fort 420m N of Valtos'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 Dearg,fort 420m N of Valtos stands on Middle Jurassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Jurassic. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.