Overview
- The synthesis dates the previously unrecognised castle to the 12th–13th centuries, predating the MacDonald Lords of the Isles.
- Evidence shows a two‑island layout with a large rectangular stone tower on one island and, on the other, a courtyard with kitchens, a chapel and burial ground, houses and a great hall.
- Researchers interpret the rectangular tower as a deliberate political statement, echoing Anglo‑French elite architecture and signaling wealth and status.
- The early castle was later dismantled or destroyed for unclear reasons, with a subsequent palace complex for the Lord of the Isles built on the site.
- The findings cap nearly 30 years of analysis of 1989–1998 excavations and are published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in Dr David Caldwell’s The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay.