Dun a Geard

Dun a Geard

This well-preserved dun is situated about 1 km south west of Kilvickeon Old Parish Church.  It is sited on a low boss on the south end of a steep-sided, rocky spur.  It can be approached from the north via a narrow saddle, but is protected on all other sides by steep, rocky slopes that fall away to the seashore 30 m below.

It is a galleried dun, roughly sub-rectangular in shape.  The enclosure measures 11 m by 9 m.  The stone wall can be traced for most of its circuit and varies in thickness from about 4.3 m to about 4.2 m.  On the north side it rises to a height of 0.7 m above the debris outside, but on the flanks of the spur only the lowest course of stone is still in place.  Very few inner-facing stones survive.  There are traces of an intramural gallery in the thickness of the wall.  There are diametrically opposed entrances on the north-east and south-west.

On the north side a massive boulder-faced, rubble-cored rivetting wall abuts the dun wall.  It is 1.8 m thick and stands 1.5 m high in the centre of the spur, rising to 2.2 m where it meets the dun wall.  It appears to have been interrupted opposite the entrance to the dun and may have been defensive or, possibly, needed to ensure the stability of the dun wall at its thickest point.

                          Grid Reference NM 406 118