dun

Information about dun

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Ruined dun in Loch Steinacleit on the Isle of Lewis
Dun (from the Brythonic Din (modern Welsh Dinas) and Gaelic Dùn, meaning fort) is now used both as a generic term for a fort (mainly used to describe a sub-group of hill forts) and also for a specific variety of atlantic roundhouse. In some areas they seem to have been built on any suitable crag or hillock, particularly south of the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth down across the border into Northumberland.

Duns, as forts, appear to have arrived with the Brythonic Celts in about the 7th century BC, associated with their Iron age culture of warrior tribes and petty chieftains. Early Duns had near vertical ramparts constructed of stone laced with timber, and where this was set on fire (accidentally or on purpose) it forms the vitrified forts where stones have been partly melted, an effect that is still clearly visible. Use of Duns continued in some cases into the medieval period.

Duns, as roundhouses, share many characteristics of brochs (often including galleries and stairs), but are smaller and probably would not have been capable of supporting a very tall structure. Very good examples of this kind of dun can be found in the Western Isles of Scotland, on artificial islands in small lochs.

Toponymy

The word in its original sense appears in many place names, and can include fortifications of all sizes and types, for example , Din Eidyn, in Gaelic Dùn Èideann which the Angles renamed Edinburgh, Dún na nGall in Ireland (Irish Gaelic: "fort of foreigners") renamed Donegal by English planters, and the Broch Dun Telve in Glenelg.

Gaul

The Proto-Celtic form is *Dūno-[1], yielding Gaulish δου̃νον[2]. It is ultimately cognate to English town[3]. The Gaulish term survives in many toponyms in France and Switzerland,

References

  • Scotland Before History - Stuart Piggott, Edinburgh University Press 1982, ISBN 0-85224-348-0
  • Scotland's Hidden History - Ian Armit, Tempus (in association with Historic Scotland) 1998, ISBN 0-7486-6067-4

See also



References

1. ^ Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, ISBN 2-87772-237-6
2. ^ Ptolemy
3. ^ Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, ISBN 0-19-861112-9
Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic is derived from the Welsh word Brython
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Scottish Gaelic}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Scotland
Regulated by: Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Language codes
ISO 639-1: gd
ISO 639-2: gla
ISO 639-3: gla

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig
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A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for military advantage. The fortification usually follows the contours of the hill, consisting of one or more lines of earthworks, with stockades or defensive walls, and external
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Atlantic roundhouse is an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland Scotland, the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

A form of dry-stone Iron Age dwelling, they are unique to the region, and are subdivided by the archaeologists into two broad
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Crag may refer to:
  • A steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward, especially a cliff or vertical rock exposure in the north of England or in Scotland.

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Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland.

At its entrance the firth is some 26 miles (42 km) wide.
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Firth of Forth (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south.
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Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and
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Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic is derived from the Welsh word Brython
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Celts, normally pronounced /kɛlts/ (see article on pronunciation), is widely used to refer to the members of any of the peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages or descended from those who did.
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The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.

Events



  • 700 BC to 600 BC — Baudhayana Sulbasutra, an orally transmitted Vedic Sanskrit text on altar construction, contains the earliest extant verbal statement of the

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Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in some past societies often including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs
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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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Broch is an Iron Age dry stone hollow-walled structure of a type which is only found in Scotland. The brochs of Scotland include some of the most sophisticated examples of dry stone architecture ever created.
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Na h-Eileanan Siar
(The Western Isles)

Location

Geography

Area Ranked 7th
 - Total 3,071 km²
 - % Water ?
Admin HQ Stornoway
(Steòrnabhagh)
GB-ELS
ONS code 00RJ
Demographics
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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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Anglo-Saxon is the collective term usually used to describe the ethnically and linguistically related peoples living in the south and east of the island of Great Britain (modern Great Britain/United Kingdom) from around the early 5th century AD to the Norman conquest of 1066.
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Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, and is Scotland's second most visited tourist attraction, after the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.
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Irish}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Irish variant) 
Official status
Official language of: Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
European Union
Regulated by: Foras na Gaeilge
Language codes
ISO 639-1: ga
ISO 639-2: gle
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Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall)[1] is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Donegal (IPA: /dʌniːgɒl/) is not the county town (capital) of County Donegal, despite being its namesake.
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Broch is an Iron Age dry stone hollow-walled structure of a type which is only found in Scotland. The brochs of Scotland include some of the most sophisticated examples of dry stone architecture ever created.
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Glenelg (Gleann Eilg in Gaelic) is a quiet village in Skye and Lochalsh, Highland, in western Scotland. Its only access is via the 339m Bealach (pass) Ratagain from Shiel Bridge on the main Inverness to Skye road.
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Dundee
Gaelic - Dùn Dèagh
Scots - Dundee
City of Discovery


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Dunfermline
Gaelic - Dùn Phàrlain
Scots - Dunfermline


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Dumbarton (Dùn Breatainn in Scottish Gaelic) is a burgh in Scotland, lying on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. Dumbarton Castle, sitting on top of Dumbarton Rock, dominates the area.
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Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall)[1] is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Donegal (IPA: /dʌniːgɒl/) is not the county town (capital) of County Donegal, despite being its namesake.
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DUNS may refer to:
  • Data Universal Numbering System by Dun & Bradstreet
  • Dial-up Networking Services
See also:

Duns
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Singidunum was an ancient Roman city, first settled by the Scordisci in the 3rd century BC, and later garrisoned and fortified by the Romans who romanized the name. Known today as Beograd (Belgrade), the capital city of Serbia, the city is one of the oldest in Europe.
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The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the putative ancestor of all the known Celtic languages. Probably spoken around 800 BC, its lexis can be confidently reconstructed on the basis of the comparative method of historical linguistics.
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town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. Usually, a "town" is thought of as larger than a village but smaller than a "city".
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