Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR1304 Lambay Island, Dublin

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database DU009-001013 (None)

NMR:  DU 009 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  730869  Y:  751555  (IRENET95)

Summary

This coastal promontory is located at 'Scotch Point' in the NW corner of Lambay Island and projects N into Broad Bay at an altitude of 2m OD. It has extensive views of the North County Dublin coastline. The site is not recorded on any edition of the OS six-inch maps. An irregular area of land with an overall site footprint of 2.55ha, the ground slopes from E to W. There are sandstone outcrops along the N perimeter of the headland and there is a landing place on the NE. At the neck on the S, the headland is separated from the mainland by a low broad bank about 43m in length, blocking the S approaches. This bank is best preserved on the E and measures 13.5m in width and 1.2m in height. The external ditch measures 8.4m in width and 0.55m in depth. There are no obvious breaks in the bank to indicate original entrances and there are no recorded internal features. That said, recent geophysical survey on either side of the defences indicate areas of occupation and circular structures within the promontory (Cooney 2009, 21).

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -670979  Y:  7075595  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.027503318767828  Latitude:  53.49769860573851  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Dublin

Historic County:  Dublin

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Lambay Island

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland  
Commercial Forestry Plantation  
Parkland  
Pasture (Grazing)  
Arable  
Scrub/Bracken  
Bare Outcrop  
Heather/Moorland  
Heath  
Built-up  
Coastal Grassland  
Other  

Landscape

Hillfort Type

Situated in the NW corner of Lambay Island, this promontory projects N into Broad Bay with extensive views of the North County Dublin coastline. It has an overall site footprint of 2.55ha with the internal area sloping from E to W at an altitude of 2m OD. The headland is separated from the mainland by a low broad bank and external ditch.

Type:
Contour Fort  
Partial Contour Fort  
Promontory Fort  
Hillslope Fort  
Level Terrain Fort  
Marsh Fort  
Multiple Enclosure Fort  

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop  
Coastal Promontory  
Inland Promontory  
Valley Bottom  
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop  
Ridge  
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp  
Hillslope  
Lowland  
Spur  

Dominant Topographic Feature:  N-facing promontory

Aspect:
North  
Northeast  
East  
Southeast  
South  
Southwest  
West  
Northwest  
Level  

Altitude:  2.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

There is no dating available for the site

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC  
1200BC - 800BC  
800BC - 400BC  
400BC - AD50  
AD50 - AD400  
AD400 - AD 800  
Post AD800  
Unknown  

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

The site is not recorded on any edition of the OS six-inch maps. Geophysical survey conducted at the site in 2009 by University College Dublin.

Investigations:
Geophysical Survey (2009):   Gabriel Cooney UCD
Geophysical Survey (2013):   Dowling

Interior Features

There are no visible internal features but recent geophysical survey on either side of the defences indicate areas of occupation and circular structures within the promontory (Cooney 2009, 21).

Water Source

None

Source:
None  
Spring  
Stream  
Pool  
Flush  
Well  
Other  

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features  
Round Stone Structures  
Rectangular Stone Structures  
Curvilinear Platforms  
Other Roundhouse Evidence  
Pits  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics  
Pits  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Roads/Tracks  
Quarry Hollows  
Other  
Nothing Found  

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds  
Pottery  
Metal  
Metalworking  
Human Bones  
Animal Bones  
Lithics  
Environmental  
Other  

Aerial

NO APPARENT FEATURES

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked  
None  
Roundhouses  
Rectangular Structures  
Pits  
Postholes  
Roads/Tracks  
Other  

Entrances

There are no obvious breaks in the bank to indicate original entrances

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

The headland is separated from the mainland by a low broad bank which runs across the narrow neck for approximately 43m to block the S approach to the promontory. This bank is best preserved on the E and measures 13.5m in width and 1.2m in height. The external ditch measures 8.4m in width and 0.55m in depth.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   2.0ha.
Total:   2.0ha.

Total Footprint Area:  2.55ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   0
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  
Unknown  

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate  
Univallate  
Partial Bivallate  
Bivallate  
Partial Multivallate  
Multivallate  

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Rubble  
Wall-walk  
Evidence of Timber  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
Other  

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None  
Earthen Bank  
Stone Wall  
Murus Duplex  
Timber-framed  
Timber-laced  
Vitrification  
Other Burning  
Palisade  
Counter Scarp Bank  
Berm  
Unfinished  
No Known Excavation  
Other  

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Cooney, G. 2009. Lambay Isalnd, Co. Dublin. Unpublished geophysical report submitted to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Galetacht.

Dowling G. 2014. 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.

https://webgis.archaeology.ie/NationalMonuments/FlexViewer/



Terms of Use

This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:

Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk


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