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Dun Stuigh is a Iron Age dun located on Great Bernera in Ross-shire, Scotland. The monument occupies a landscape of ancient Proterozoic gneiss, metamorphic bedrock formed over a billion years ago during the Mesoproterozoic period. This resistant stone has shaped both the terrain and the building materials available to the dun's Iron Age inhabitants, whose fortified residence exploited the natural geology of the Hebridean island.
The dun represents a characteristic form of defensible dwelling constructed during the Iron Age in the Scottish Highlands and islands. These circular or oval stone-built structures were typically occupied by elite families and functioned as both domestic settlements and strongholds. The gneiss bedrock would have provided suitable stone for construction, whilst the rocky terrain of Great Bernera itself offered natural defensive advantages.
Dun Stuigh is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5252, reflecting its significance as evidence of Iron Age settlement patterns and social organisation in the far north-west of Scotland. The monument survives as a valuable archaeological record of a crucial period in Scottish prehistory, when fortified settlements played an important role in the political landscape of Highland and island communities.
Dun Stuigh,dun,Great Bernera is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5252. View the official record →
Dun Stuigh is a Iron Age dun located on Great Bernera in Ross-shire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5252.
Dun Stuigh,dun,Great Bernera dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a dun,great bernera. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dun Stuigh,dun,Great Bernera 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 SM5252.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dun Baravat,Loch Baravat,Great Bernera (4.7 km), St Peter's Church, Pabay Mor, Lewis (5.6 km), Carnan Beag, chambered cairn 350m SSW of, Hacklete, Great Bernera (5.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Dun Stuigh,dun,Great Bernera'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 Stuigh,dun,Great Bernera stands on Proterozoic I gneiss, bedrock that formed in the Mesoproterozoic. The rock here is gneiss; undifferentiated metamorphic.