Reconnaissance excavations on early historic fortifications and other royal sites in Scotland, 1974-84: 2, Excavations at Dunollie Castle, Oban, Argyll, 1978

Abstract

Dunollie is the Dun Ollaigh mentioned in early annals, and small-scale excavations revealed a sequence of structures that correlates well with the historical evidence. Within a radiocarbon date-range of the 7th-10th centuries, a bronze-worker's hearth, with moulds for stick pins, was overlain by a stone-built rampart which subsequently collapsed. A new rampart was superimposed on the old probably in the 13th century. The role of Dunollie in Dal Riata is considered, along with the social status of Argyll duns generally. A R