Scotland · Partial ruin
Dun Ringill
Dun Ringill is an Iron Age hill fort on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye, later modified in the Middle Ages and traditionally held as a seat of Clan MacKinnon. The stacked-stone dun sits on the west shore of Loch Slapin, surrounded by a ditch and the foundations of an enclosing wall, with remnants of a small farming township to the north. The site shows occupation and alteration from the early centuries CE through the 19th century.
Its prime
1360
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1360
What Dun Ringill looked like in its prime.
A roughly broch-like stacked-stone tower about 16 m across and c.4 m high in its surviving fabric, set on a rocky shore above Loch Slapin; the outer wall is ringed by a ditch and a clearly visible landward-facing central doorway about 1.8 m high leading into the central court. Two small rectangular stone buildings sit within the interior. Low stone foundations enclose an adjacent yard, and earth-and-stone ramps descend each side to the water.
Its story
The story of Dun Ringill.
An Iron Age Dun at the Point of the Ravine
Dun Ringill takes its name from the Gaelic dùn, 'fort', and Ringill, 'point of the ravine'. It sits on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye, east of Kirkibost on the west shore of Loch Slapin, and its original structure is consistent with an Iron Age broch dating to approximately the first years of the common era — a form of complex Atlantic roundhouse. The stacked-stone ruin now stands about four metres high and sixteen metres on each side, with a ditch following the outer wall and a landward-facing doorway some 1.8 metres high opening into the centre.
Earth and stone ramps descend from either side of the structure to the sea, and likely gave easy access to the water and to shipping. Roads did not exist in this part of Skye until recent times, and sea travel was the predominant means of transport.
Castle Findnaus and the MacKinnon Seat
Further fortified in the Middle Ages, the dun is held by tradition to have been the seat of Clan MacKinnon for several centuries, occupied by them well before the 16th century; it is likely they were already established there in 1360. The site was also known as Castle Findnaus, and the MacKinnons laid out a small farming township north of it.
Dun Ringill is mentioned in historical texts in the 16th century. By that century the MacKinnons had moved their seat to Dunakin.
Occupation to the 19th Century, Scheduled in 1934
Two rectangular buildings, each about 4.5 by 2.4 metres, stood within the walls, and a stone wall foundation encloses the ground beside the structure; as at other castles and fortified houses, that wall probably formed a defensive perimeter and a livestock enclosure, though its remains are now hidden by vegetation. A survey of the site found further buildings in the immediate vicinity, and although their age is uncertain, their construction and occupation likely continued throughout the history of Dun Ringill up to the 19th century — the main and subordinate structures were themselves occupied and modified until that century.
The dun was designated a scheduled monument on 25 July 1934.
The Song on Stormwatch, 1979
Ian Anderson, leader of the rock band Jethro Tull, was living at Kilmarie House within walking distance of the dun when he wrote 'Dun Ringill', which the band performed on their 1979 album Stormwatch. The lyrics call for a meeting down by Dun Ringill during the wee hours of a stormy night, when 'we'll watch the old gods play'.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1360.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Dun Ringill, including 2 interiors: central court of the broch-like tower, two interior rectangular buildings. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Dun Ringill with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1360, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Dun Ringill.
The families that held Dun Ringill for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
MacKinnon
Traditional seat of Clan MacKinnon for several centuries, until the chiefs moved their seat to Dunakin by the 16th century.
