Dun Cuier

Dun Cuier is a broch-like galleried dun on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, perched on a rocky summit about 46 metres above sea level. The structure measures 14.5 metres in overall diameter with walls approximately 5 metres thick, featuring a narrow gallery running around most of the circuit and a scarcement ledge 1.4 metres above ground level. Excavated by A. Young between 1953 and 1955, the site revealed two distinct occupation phases spanning the 4th to 7th centuries AD. Finds included bone composite combs, ornamental bone pins, bone gaming dice, stone tools, querns, metal objects, and two distinct pottery traditions -- Dun Cuier ware and later plain coarse pottery associated with Gaelic settlement. The site is classified as broch-like rather than a true broch, as it lacks certain features such as an intra-mural stair.