History
Dun Dornaigil was probably built between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. It is a rare example, as its interior has never been archaeologically investigated.
Today the broch tower stands alone, an imposing structure in an isolated valley. We cannot be sure why Dun Dornaigil was built here, but it is likely that this was a strategic location in the Iron Age, perhaps an important route-way.
Part of the tower still stands to an impressive 7m high, and the entrance, with its distinctive triangular lintel stone, is the best surviving example in Scotland. There’s no evidence for any external structures associated with the broch, but these may have been destroyed to make way for the modern road.
Uniquely Scottish
Brochs are only found in Scotland. They are drystone structures formed of two concentric walls, with a narrow entrance passage and often small cells or chambers leading off the ground floor. A stone stair corkscrews between the inner and outer walls to the top.
There are well over 500 brochs in Scotland, most of them found in northern and western Scotland and the islands.
