A fragmentary ruin of what once was a powerful castle of the Lord of the Isles. It stands on a high basaltic plateau, which forms a promontory on the south shore of the Sound of Mull, and shelters a bay or natural harbour. The site is near the centre of the Sound where it bends, so that the fortress commands a clear view both up and down the channel. The advantages of this situation led to its being early secured as a place of defence. It was possibly at first a castle with a wall of enceinte surrounding the plateau, but if so that wall has now disappeared. The keep was erected on the landward side of the site, where it guarded the approach, which was likewise defended with fosse and drawbridge. Of the keep there now remains only a portion of two walls, without any very distinctive features, but the door and window openings are evidently ancient. It was at Aros that Lord Ochiltree called the island chiefs together in 1608, when he invited them to dine on board his vessel, and after dinner informed them that they were prisoners by command of His Majesty James VI. He then carried them off and distributed them as prisoners in the castles of Dumbarton, Blackness, and Stirling.
THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND BY DAVID MACGIBBON AND THOMAS ROSS, 1889--