Excavating an Iron Age Dun in the Scottish Highlands

The excavation revealed that Comar Wood Dun had been constructed during the second half of the first millennium BC. Evidence for two burning events was uncovered, after both of which events the site was rebuilt and reused for several centuries before final abandonment. The rebuilding of Comar Wood Dun is consistent with other Iron Age Atlantic roundhouse sites. However, in stark contrast to many brochs, the excavations at Comar Wood failed to produce any dateable small finds, which has also been the case for other duns. The lack of material culture suggests either that the occupants thoroughly cleaned out debris in a methodical manner, before or after abandoning such sites, or that they were only used temporarily, possibly as places to retire to in times of strife. The reuse of these sites and lack of artefactual material suggest that they were not elite settlements, but probably related to more autonomous farming communities establishing a presence and control over territory.
That so few artefacts were recovered, and such little domestic debris encountered, may suggest that the Comar Wood Dun evolved from a local defended roundhouse into a meeting place, a monument located centrally that could have been visited occasionally.

Like most of the forts, duns and brochs distributed along Strathglass, the Comar Wood Dun’s location took full advantage of extensive views; whether to work on established lines of sight between contemporary structures, to provide a defensive location, or to represent a symbol of status within the wider landscape. With its impressive dimensions, including a possible towering conical roof, outworks and its location set on the edge of rocky knoll whose slopes fall quickly towards the valley floor, the monument would certainly have displayed an element of identity and prestige.
 
While further excavation of this site and other similar sites would reveal much more information, the excavation Comar Wood has shown that ‘keyhole’ investigations, designed to assess archaeological potential and recover information to a pre-determined plan, can provide valuable information and usefully increase the current corpus of knowledge.

The full results of this research, which was funded by Forestry Commission Scotland, ARO23: Excavation and Survey at Comar Wood Dun, Cannich, Strathglass, Inverness-shire by Mary Peteranna and Steven Birch is freely available to download from the ARO website Archaeology Reports Online: www.archaeologyreportsonline.com