The medieval castle of Dun Aros

buildings archaeology and chronological consistency on the shores of the Sound of Mull

Abstract

An investigation of Aros Castle (NM 56287 44989) was undertaken which included low-level survey of the site’s north-west block followed by lab-based analysis of a mixed assemblage of building material samples. The study presents the first independent evidence relating to the chronology of building construction on the site and reveals the wide range of techniques and materials exploited during that process. The results are consistent with surviving documentary, architectural and art-historical evidence, and highlight the importance of the site’s masonry structures for the mediation and display of Clan Donald power during their later medieval floruit as Lords of the Isles and Earls of Ross.