In certain instances, place-names containingDun- or similar inNorthern England and SouthernScotland, may be derived from aBrittonic cognate of the Welsh formdin.[1] In this region, substitution of the Brittonic form by the Gaelic equivalent may have been widespread in toponyms.[1]
The Daciandava (hill fort) is probably etymologically cognate.[citation needed]
Duns seem to have arrived with theCelts in about the 7th century BC. Early duns had near vertical ramparts made of stone and timber. There were two walls, an inner wall and the outside one.Vitrified forts are the remains of duns that have been set on fire and where stones have been partly melted. Use of duns continued in some parts into theMiddle Ages.
Duns are similar tobrochs, but are smaller and probably would not have been capable of supporting a very tall structure. Good examples of this kind of dun can be found in theOuter Hebrides ofScotland, on artificial islands in small lakes.
The worddun is, along with like-sounding cognate forms, an element frequently found in Celtic toponymy; especially that of Ireland and Scotland. It can include fortifications of all sizes and kinds:
Many settlement and geographical names in Scotland are named with Gaelicdun ("fort"), as well as cognates in Brittonic languages such asCumbric andPictish.[1]
TheProto-Celtic form is*Dūno-,[7] yielding Greek δοῦνον. It is ultimately cognate to Englishtown.[8] The Gaulish term survives in many toponyms in France and Switzerland:
^abMills, A.D. (2011) [first published 1991].A Dictionary of British Place Names (First edition revised 2011 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 153.ISBN9780199609086.
^abCoates, Richard (1998). "A new explanation of the name of London".Transactions of the Philological Society.96 (2):203–229.doi:10.1111/1467-968X.00027.
