Promontory fort - coastal

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in an area of rolling fertile open pasture with traces of earlier cultivation visible. The headland is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. The shore beneath is accessible only with difficulty and a freshwater stream runs through the adjoining field. A broad triangular north-east facing headland measuring 33m by 18m is cut off from the mainland by a single low earthen bank 2.5m wide slightly convex to the land. It is 0.50m high and a gap near the northern end may be the remains of an entrance. A faint depression running along the outside of the bank is all that remains of a ditch. Much of the earth from the bank had recently been removed, perhaps to build a nearby Land Commission earthen field boundary. Several large recumbent flat slabs lying within the bank suggest it was once revetted. The interior is level and covered with traces of old cultivation ridges. It also contains three long shallow hollows placed haphazardly around the site. They measure 5m - 7m in length and many similar such features are scattered around the adjoining fields. They post-date the cultivation ridges and may be remnants of kelp-kilns or possibly kelp-stacks.

These descriptions are derived from the MA thesis of Markus Casey 1999 The coastal promontory forts of Ireland. A survey of counties Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare. Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway. In this instance the entry has been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 5 December 2018

References

Casey, M. 1999 The coastal promontory forts of Ireland. A survey of counties Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare. Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway.