Saints and Stones: Dun Carloway (Dún Chàrlabhaigh)
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Dun Carloway (Dún Chàrlabhaigh) is a well-preserved broch overlooking Loch Roag on the Hebridean island of Lewis. It was built some time in the 1st Century B.C. as a defensible residence for an extended family with accommodation for animals on the ground floor and as a show of power and status in the area.

Parts of the old wall that are still standing are almost 22 feet tall. It has been estimated that the original wall could have been as high as 43 feet tall. At its base the broch is around 47 feet in diameter, and its walls are almost 10 feet thick in places.

Dun Carloway's double wall still exists and shows how tiers of galleries were linked by a stone staircase within the hollow wall. Two side cells branch off from the inner courtyard. Remains found in the broch indicate that it was occupied until around 1300 A.D.

About Dun Carloway

Megalithic Portal: Dun Carloway
Undiscovered Scotland: Dun Carloway
Stone Pages: Dun Carloway
Wikipedia: Dun Carloway
Wikipedia: Broch

Journey to Dun Carloway

Dun Carloway is located off the A858 between the villages of Breasclete and Carloway on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles, Scotland.

Streetmap UK (NGR NB1900441224)

Visitors Information

Visitors information on Dun Carloway may be found on the Historic Scotland website and on the Calanais Visitor Centre website. (The Callanish Stones are located south of Dun Carloway.) General tourist information may be found on the Visit Hebrides website.

Additional Photos of Dun Carloway

Road Sign for Dun Carloway
Descriptive Sign at Dun Carloway
Dun Carloway
Dun Carloway
Dun Carloway from the North
Three-Storey Interior
Interior of Dun Carloway
Interior of Dun Carloway
Interior of Dun Carloway
Stairway Within the Walls
Inter-Wall Steps
Entrance to Side Cell
Interior of Side Cell
Outside Wall of Dun Carloway
Loch Roag from Dun Carloway


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