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Dun Fiadhairt is an Iron Age broch standing on a low, rocky knoll in the midst of moorland, on a peninsula which juts into the east side of Loch Dunvegan. The broch has an external diameter of 16.8 metres and an internal diameter of 9.6 metres. The main entrance is on the west side of the broch and the entrance passage is 3.7 metres long. The passage contains two opposing guard cells.
The interior of the broch contains a double cell in the side wall, and a 'guard cell' at the foot of the stairs. The rest of the inner wall is occupied by a ground level gallery. The door to this mural gallery goes right through the wall to form a small second entrance. It is not certain if this second entrance is part of the original structure, since other second entrances found in brochs elsewhere appear to be of later construction.
Dun Fiadhairt was excavated around 1892 by the Countess Vincent Baillet de Latour. Little information survives about these early excavations, and 20 years later she would excavate Dun Beag with more care. Finds included a quantity of pottery, and a large amount of 'iron refuse'. Stone finds included a rotary quern, a whetstone, a hammerstone, spindle whorls and a fragment of an armlet. Several glass beads were found of various colours, and in addition there were 59 amber beads in the form of short cylinders which presumably formed a necklace. There was also found a baked clay object, thought to be a Roman votive model of a bale of wool.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.