The Dun

Much of the bulk of the island may consist of the collapsed remains of an Iron Age fort - a broch or a dun. Some of its walls have already been traced, and the walls of the medieval castle seem to be founded directly on its stonework.

A fort of this type would have been the home of an important chief. The discovery of a polished stone axe in the 1994 excavations suggests that there may be yet earlier evidence of occupation on Eilean na Comhairle.