Miscellaneous

Dun Ban
Hillfort

Dun Ban

We have one definite prehistoric site in Knoydart – Dun Ban at Done (NG701036). The name Doune itself comes from the Gaelic word dun meaning fort, of which there are hundreds of examples throughout Scotland. Some, like Dundee, Dunkeld, Dumbarton or Dumfries, became important centre. Others, such as Doune, represent settlements that never grew beyond a cluster of families. Without excavation we have no means of dating this site, though it is likely to be Iron Age in origin and falling between the period 500BC to 500AD. It measures 74m by 49m and, like the forts in Arisaig, has a heavily vitrified wall. It occupies a strategic site on the coastline facing Sleat (Skye).

Knoydart A History by Denis Rixson