Dun Ringill: An Iron Age Hill Fort and MacKinnon Seat on Skye
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Iron Age
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Iron Age, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page11 sections
History
Dun Ringill is an Iron Age hill fort in the United Kingdom, on the Strathaird peninsula of Scotland’s Isle of Skye. Its earliest structure was probably a broch, a complex Atlantic roundhouse, built around the first years of the Common Era. Occupation and modification continued through successive phases, probably into the nineteenth century, while the site later became a fortified promontory settlement.
Iron Age origins and later fortification
The original Dun Ringill was consistent with the broch tradition that developed in northern and western Scotland during the Iron Age, a period when iron became an important material for tools and weapons and fortified settlements became prominent. The site’s main and subsidiary structures were occupied and altered over time. In the late Middle Ages, the fort was strengthened as a promontory fort, a defended site on projecting high ground, with new buildings, an outer defensive boundary, a ditch across the landward approach, and a lengthened entrance passage.
The MacKinnon seat
For several centuries, tradition connected Dun Ringill with the MacKinnon clan, a Scottish Highland clan whose leadership and territorial organization shaped the later history of the site. Dun Ringill was also known as Castle Findnaus, and the MacKinnons established a small farming township north of the fort. They were probably established at Dun Ringill by 1360, and the site appears in sixteenth-century historical texts.
By the sixteenth century, the MacKinnon seat had moved to Dunakin. Another tradition identifies Findanus, described as the fourth MacKinnon chief, with a move to nearby Moll Castle, also called Dun Acainn or Dunakin, around 900. The later medieval development at Dun Ringill included defensive and domestic additions, reflecting the site’s continued use beyond its original Iron Age form.
Protection and modern cultural association
Dun Ringill became a scheduled monument on 25 July 1934. Its later cultural associations include the song “Dun Ringill,” released by the rock band Jethro Tull on the 1979 album Stormwatch. Band leader Ian Anderson wrote the song while living at nearby Kilmarie House.
Remains
Dun Ringill occupies a coastal promontory overlooking Loch Slapin. A hilly coastal plain extends to the north and west, while the loch borders the site to the east and south. The surviving ruin is roughly square, measuring about 16 metres on each side and standing approximately 4 metres high. Its irregular outline follows the shape of the promontory, and its walls are built of stacked stone.
Defences and access
Outer ditch and ramps
A ditch follows the outer wall, including a section cut across the landward neck of the promontory. Earth-and-stone ramps descend towards the sea on both sides of the structure. They probably provided access to the water and to shipping. The foundation of a stone wall encloses an adjoining area, probably serving both as a defensive perimeter and as a livestock enclosure. Vegetation conceals the surviving wall remains.
Entrance passage
The principal entrance faces inland and is approximately 1.8 metres high. A small guard cell beside it helped control or monitor access. Socket holes are associated with a door-barring mechanism, while the original entrance passage was later extended as part of the site’s subsequent development.
Internal buildings
Broch-like interior
The original internal arrangement resembled that of a broch. Within the structure were two rectangular buildings, each approximately 4.5 by 2.4 metres. A cell within the wall has a roof formed by corbelled stonework, a technique in which successive stone courses project inward until they create a covering.
Nearby buildings
A survey identified the remains of other buildings in the immediate vicinity. Their dates are uncertain, but their construction and occupation probably continued through successive phases of Dun Ringill’s history until the nineteenth century. Together with the enclosed area beside the main ruin, these remains reflect the site’s long transition from an Iron Age fortified settlement to a later defended and occupied complex.
