Dun Hianish: bait hole or knocking stone

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DUN HIANISH

NM039433. A boulder, hollowed out artificially in a circular basin. 10 ins. in diameter and 8 ins. deep, is now at the croft of Mr. Neil MacKinnon, but comes from the neighbouring dun (which Beveridge describes), where it lay under a great deal of collapsed masonry. On the rocks immediately below the dun, on the E., and only a few feet above the sea, there are three artificial basins, of which the largest is 6 ins. in diameter and 5 ins, deep. They may conceivably have been used for crushing shellfish for bait. The narrow strait between the dun and a small, rocky islet to the S. is crossed by two walls or causeways, one of which is now below the surface of the water. Beveridge’s suggestion that this is a harbour is thought unlikely by Mr. MacKinnon—certainly it seems inadequately sheltered in such stormy waters—and he suggests that the walls form a fish trap. The place is, nowadays, regarded as providing excellent fishing.

Discovery and Excavation in Scotland 1960, p. 23.

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