Dun an Sticir

Dun an Sticir (castle Lurker ) is one of the better preserved brochs in Scotland. It is located on the Hebridean island of North Uist, 500 m south of Newton Ferry ( Gaelic: Port nan Long), on one of the two small islands in the " hole at Sticir " (lake).

In the Iron Age was standing in front here between 500. AD and the turning point a Broch of dry masonry. He had a narrow entrance, which is only 3.5 m thick walls were riddled with chambers and galleries. The places the walls are preserved to a height of more than three meters. In the Middle Ages the Broch was removed from the top to build out its stones, a rectangular building. In the entrance there are traces of a so-called guard cell and within the wall of the remains of a niche. After a period of neglect under Norman rule ( from the 9th to the 13th century ) of the Broch was repaired in the 16th century and by a hall built.

The island can be reached from a flooded at high water level causeway from the north end of the lake. The three -meter-wide stone causeway that connects the island over the neighboring island of Eilean na Mi- Chomhairle to the mainland is younger than an access via a narrow causeway, which starts from the southern end of the lake.

Tradition connects the island with a certain Hugh MacDonald ( Uisdean Macghilleasbuig Chleirich ), manager of North Uist. It failed in 1568 in an attempt to take his cousin Donald Gorm as clan chief and sought refuge here before he was captured and died in the dungeons of Duntulm Castle on Skye.

In the vicinity of the Broch are:

• The stone circle Beinn A Chaolais
• The stone row Crois Mhic Jamain
• The basement Port nan Long