Promontory fort - coastal

The National Monuments Service's description

This impressive, well preserved promontory fort is situated above a steep cliff at Gouge Point at the NW end of the Island. It is known as the Garden Fort. There are three lines of defences, on the landward and seaward side respectively. This natural headland is cut off on the landward side and highest point by a contiguous series of three banks which are stone faced and two intervening rock-cut fosses. They comprise an outer bank which is denuded by a modern field boundary (Wth 3.7m, D 075m) associated with an internal fosse (Wth 1.7m, D 1.50m); a middle bank which is flat-topped (Wth at base 4.5m, H 3m), a second fosse (Wth 2.7m, D 1.50m) and an inner bank which is the best preserved and most prominent (Wth 7 m, H 4.5m). Approximately 20m to the N on the seaward side of the headland is the inner line of defence which stop c. 2m from the E side of the headland leaving a causeway through the defences. These works comprise two banks with intervening fosse, inner bank is stone-faced (Wth 2m, H 1.50m) with intervening fosse (Wth 2.75m, D2m) and outer bank which may be the remains of a collapsed stone wall (Wth.1.50m, H 0.3m). There is a section of fosse (Wth 2m, D 0.70m) which was cut into the W side of the headland immediately S of the inner works (Westropp 1922, 68-70, Healy 1975, 22; Scantlebury 1945, 85-6; Cooney 2009, 20).
Geophysical survey (Licence no. 12R078) of the promontory was carried out by The Discovery Programme for the LIARI Project in two small areas. The first between the outer ditch and middle bank did not reveal any new features. The second area surveyed, immediately east of the middle rampart recorded an area (5m diam.) of responses that may denote burning. A band of responses (2m diam.) that extends at right angles and corresponds with a low-lying topographical feature mapped by aerial photogrammetry may also be of archaeological potential (Dowling 2014, 12).

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout

Updated by: Christine Baker

Date of upload: 31 December 2014

References

Cooney, G. 2009, The prehistory of Lambay, a long view. In Baker, C. (ed.) Axes, Warriors and Windmills: Recent archaeological discoveries in north Fingal. Fingal County Council.9-22.

Dowling G. 2014b, Geophysical survey at Lambay, north Co. Dublin (Licence no. 12R078). Unpublished report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Healy, P. 1975b Third report on monuments and sites of archaeological interest in county Dublin. An Foras Forbartha, Dublin.

Healy, P. 1975a Second report on monuments and sites of archaeological interest in county Dublin. An Foras Forbartha Teoranta.

Scantlebury, Rev. C.S. 1945 Lambay. Dublin Historical Record 7, 82-91.

Westropp, T.J. 1922 The promontory forts and adjoining remains in Leinster. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 52, 52-76.