Hut site

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated within ‘Doonallia’ promontory fort (MA075-005001-): the most elevated and southerly of the cluster of three houses (MA075-005003-, MA075-005004-, MA075-005005-) located on the landward side at the higher, southern end of the platform. The site comprises a subcircular area (NE–SW 4.3m, NW–SE 4.9m) defined by a fairly well-preserved grassy bank that is mantled in ferns and bluebells in summer. The bank is intact from NW through N to ENE and from E through S to SW. It stands to a maximum height of 0.45m externally at NE and 0.65m internally at S. However, most of the bank has been eroded away from SW through W to NW, where it runs along the platform edge. A number of stones are visible in the exposed section face, but no stratigraphy is evident. A gap (Wth 1.4m) at E, which undoubtedly marks the original entrance, gives access to the interior that is flat and grassy. Westropp (1911a, 21 and 1914, 325) notes only two ‘huts’ in the interior of this fort: these are shown on a sketch of the site made by him c. 1909–10 (Westropp 1911b, 281). ‘The ‘larger hut’ and ‘a larger and more injured site’ he refers to would appear to be this and the two houses MA075-005004-, MA075-005005.

The above description is derived from: New Survey of Clare Island. Volume 5: Archaeology. Edited by Paul Gosling, Conleth Manning and John Waddell. (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. 2007). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated.

Date of upload: 29 November 2018

References

Gosling, P., Manning, C. and Waddell, J. (eds.) 2007 New Survey of Clare Island, Volume 5: Archaeology. Dublin, Royal Irish Academy.

Westropp, T.J. 1911 Sketches in Ireland. Vol. 7 1904–10. Part of a manuscript collection of field drawings bound into seven volumes (c. 1880–1910). Royal Irish Academy Library, ref. 3 A 46-52. Dublin.

Westropp, T.J. 1911 Clare Island survey: history and archaeology. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 31, Section 1, Part 2, 1-78.