Promontory fort - coastal

The National Monuments Service's description

This site lies along the lowlying western shore of the Mullet peninsula in an area of sheep grazing. Rocks thrown up from the sea lie about the immediate area and in the interior of the fort. The promontory fort is covered with old cultivation ridges. The sea is easily accessible from within the fort. Named 'Portnafrankagh' by Westropp.
The enormous W-facing headland, an estimated 24 hectares in size, is defended by a curved wall running across its neck. The wall is collapsed and grassed-over, it is 170m long and was originally 1.7m wide. It is 1m high inside and 1.6m high outside and has faint traces of an inner and outer ditch. It is best preserved near the centre, deteriorating at either end. There is no original entrance surviving. The interior of the fort measures circa 600m long and circa 400m wide at its widest point. Near the eastern end traces of four hutsites (MA009-005006-, MA009-005008-, MA009-005010- and MA009-005011-) and two souterrains can be seen. The huts are 3m-4m in diameter and were sub-circular in plan. They survive only as grassed-over collapsed walls of rubble. Two lengths of collapsed souterrain lie nearby. The depressions are 0.5m to 1m deep and 0.5m wide. The walls are intermittently visible and were of drystone construction. These features are nearly totally grown over, and the cultivation of the interior of the fort probably hastened their erosion. No other features are visible within the site. Several earth and stone banks run eastwards from the wall outside the site, but their relationship with the fort is not clear. The poorly preserved internal features of the site contrast sharply with Westropp's description of souterrain with passages and chambers, huts with enclosing walls and lintelled gateways through the main rampart (1912a,210; 1912b,12).

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 Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway.

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 Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Westropp, T.J. 1912 The promontory forts and early remains of the coasts of county Mayo. Part 2. The Mullet. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 42, No. 3, 185-216.

Westropp, T.J. 1912 The promontory forts and early remains of the coasts of county Mayo. Part 1. The North Coast (Tirawley and Erris) (continued) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 42, no. 2, 101-139.