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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Hillfort

Dunmurry West, County Kildare, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Hillfort, Dunmurry West, County Kildare, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Dunmurry West
County
Kildare
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
53.19802, -6.93194
SMR number
KD022-001001-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1799 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1830 · V.3:11-15:XV. Britisches Reich. C. Kon: Ireland. a. Prov: Leinster. Counties: 1-12 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Outline of hillfort clearly visible on oblique aerial photograph (CUCAP AHL092) taken 26/06/1963. The upper portion of Dunmurry Hill (OD 769 feet) is girdled by a very poorly preserved, low, broad, grassed-over stoney bank (av. Wth 6m; int H 0.2-0.5m; ext. H 0.5-1.4m), augmented and reused as a townland boundary wall with Guidenstown South from NNW-NE, and reduced to a low scarp (H0.6m) at SE. (At NE the former townland boundary wall indicated on the OS 6-inch mapping has been levelled.) A large oval area is enclosed (diams. c. 370m NW-SE; c. 200m NE-SW) and contains a small enclosure (KD022-001002-) on the summit of the hill, with a small mound or possible cairn just to its E (KD022-001003-) and two possible hut sites downslope to the SSE (KD022-001004- and KD022-001005-). A large telecommunications compound has been built in the NW sector and a service road overlies the older enclosing element along the SW.
The hillfort was recently described in the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland as following; 'Oval fort situated surrounding the summit and SE facing slopes of Dunmurry Hill. The summit offers panoramic views in all directions. The univallate hillfort has a total site footprint of 6.3ha and comprises a poorly preserved, grass covered stoney bank up to 6m wide and 0.5m high, with no obvious ditch feature. A mound (probably prehistoric), two possible hut structures and a small enclosure are apparent within the interior of the hillfort. Interior under pasture with patches of scrub and gorse. There have been no archaeological investigations of this hillfort.' (http://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/records/IR0672.html).

See attached image courtesy of Cambridge University

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 6 February 2020

References

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

Lock, G. and Ralston, I. 2017 Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland.(Online website at https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk)

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
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