Exactly when the first settlers occupied Rubh' an Dùnain we may never know. But slowly the peninsula is beginning to reveal some of the clues about its extraordinary history. And these suggest that the area has been continuously inhabited for millennia – perhaps one of the longest in the country.
Their remains have been scattered across the promontory – shards of pottery, fragments of flint, earthworks, pieces of sunken timber, sophisticated masonry, crumbling dwellings – the spoor of past cultures and civilisations very different from our own today.
Like any complex jigsaw, making sense of the pieces and assembling them to form an accurate picture is difficult. It calls for expert and careful analysis to interpret the physical evidence and sketch in the gaps.
This section attempts to gather together some of the important pieces of the Rubh' an Dùnain puzzle, and with the help of archaeologists and historians to reveal something more of its place in our past.
Exploring the mysteries
Formally designated a Historic Monument in October 2017, there is much still to discover. This section contains four themes introducing readers to key strands from the peninsula's past. The area's archaeology is summarised. Two possible scenarios from prehistoric and medieval times are outlined and finally the devastating impact of The Clearances on the land and its people is addressed.
These topics are backed by videos and, in our Library of downloadable documents more detailed analyses which include several historical studies of the Clan MacAskill, plus useful weblinks.
In this section
Useful links
- Roots of Revival – A 20-min audio-visual documentary about the Skye family whose kinship put these lands and their history back on the map.
- Read our vision for repopulating Rubh' an Dùnain
