page_title: Dùn Beic
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Dùn Beic / Description
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Positionskarte von Schottland, Vereinigtes Königreich Quadratische Plattkarte, N-S-Streckung 170&#160;%. Geographische Begrenzung der Karte: * N: 61.0° N * S: 54.5° N * W: 8.8° W * O: 0.4° W English: Location map of Scotland, United Kingdom Equirectangular projection, N/S stretching 170&#160;%. Geographic limits of the map: * N: 61.0° N * S: 54.5° N * W: 8.8° W * E: 0.4° W
context_page_description: Dùn Beic is a dun located on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll. It is located at grid reference NM15495644 and is thought to date to between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. The etymology of the dun's name is uncertain; one possibility is that it could be made up of a personal name. The dun appears in local legend as being one of several fortresses held by Norsemen, who were defeated in battle against the ancestor of the Macleans of Coll. There have been several archaeological finds at Dùn Beic; these include pieces of flint, burnt bone, and fragments of incised pottery.
context_section_description: Dùn Beic is located on the Inner Hebridean island of Coll. It is situated on the island's northeast coast, about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) west-northwest of Totronald. It occupies the crest of a jutting cliff surrounded by the sea, which stands 18 metres (60 ft) high.
  A dun is a building, or enclosed settlement, with a circular stone wall; usually situated on an elevated position. Dùn Beic's wall runs around the margin of the summit, though it has almost completely disappeared from sight. A few stretches of it are visible in the east, where the remains of the wall's rubble core and three courses of outer facing-stones stand 0.7 metres (2 ft 4 in) high. The wall's course in the southwest and west is marked by a grassy bank. The plan of Dùn Beic's wall appears to have been oval-shaped, about 20.0 metres (65 ft 7 in) northeast to southwest by 15.0 metres (49 ft 3 in).
  In 1903, Beveridge stated that upon the summit there were the scanty remains of several small buildings. In the centre of the west-most building, Beveridge dug a hole and found several round or oval stones which measured on average about an inch in length. When the site was visited by the Ordnance Survey (OS) in 1972, there was no evidence for any of these buildings. The OS, however, did find a rectangular-shaped hollow, about 6.5 metres (21 ft 4 in) by about 3.0 metres (9 ft 10 in), which was considered to have been his excavation. In 1980, a group representing the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) visited the site and their survey of the interior of the dun described much of it as being unsuitable for habitation because of the rocky outcrops. The RCAHMS group discerned that the rest of the summit was occupied by a single building, of which only the foundation remains. This building lies on its long axis northwest and southeast. It measures 3.0 metres (9 ft 10 in) 7.6 by 4.6 metres (24 ft 11 in by 15 ft 1 in); the walls are on average 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) thick and 0.3 metres (1 ft 0 in) high. Near the centre of the north-eastern wall, there is an entrance which leads to an irregular hollow between two outcrops. At the northern end of the site there is minor landslip which shows that the surrounding soil contained some burnt bone and potsherds; and that it had accumulated 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) deep before the construction of the rectangular-shaped building.
  Below the cliff, in the east, there is a natural gully within the rock. Beveridge stated that this natural rampart was likely artificially strengthened; however, the OS found no evidence to support this. The OS group could not find any evidence for an entrance to the dun, but noted that it was presumed to have been located in the northeast.
caption: Location of Coll.
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