Dun
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224403918
2008-07-08T18:24:17Z
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[[Image:Loch_Steinacleit.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ruined dun in [[Loch Steinacleit]] on the [[Isle of Lewis]]]]
'''Dun''' (from the [[Brythonic]] ''Din'' (modern Welsh Dinas) and [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]] ''Dùn'', meaning ''fort'') is now used both as a generic term for a fort (mainly used to describe a sub-group of [[hill fort]]s) 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]] [[Celt]]s 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 fort|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 [[Anglo-Saxons|Angles]] renamed [[Edinburgh Castle|Edinburgh]], ''Dún na nGall'' in Ireland ([[Irish Gaelic]]: "fort of foreigners") renamed [[Donegal]] by English planters, and the [[Broch]] ''Dun Telve'' in [[Glenelg, Scotland|Glenelg]].
* [[Dundee]], [[Dunfermline]], [[Dunbarton]]
* [[Donegal]]
* [[Duns]]
* [[Singidunum|Singidun]]
=== Gaul ===
The [[Proto-Celtic]] form is ''*Dūno-''<ref>Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, ISBN 2-87772-237-6</ref>, yielding Gaulish δου̃νον<ref>[[Ptolemy]]</ref>. It is ultimately cognate to English ''[[town]]''<ref>Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, ISBN 0-19-861112-9</ref>. The Gaulish term survives in many toponyms in France and Switzerland,
* [[Lyon]] < ''Lugdunum''.
* [[Nevers]] < ''Noviodunum''
* [[Yverdon]] < ''Eburodunum''
* [[Verdun]] < Verodunum
* [[Thun]]
== References ==
<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 ==
*[[Prehistoric Scotland]]
[[Category:Fortification]]
[[Category:Geography of Scotland]]
[[Category:Placename etymologies]]
[[Category:Scottish archaeology]]
[[Category:Shelters]]
[[Category:Toponymy]]
[[de:Dun]]
[[fr:Dun (forteresse)]]
[[it:Dun (archeologia)]]