HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database DG096-009 (None)
NMR:  DG 096 (None)
SM:  None
NGR:  None
X:  559481  Y:  875809  (IRENET95)
This coastal promontory is situated at 'Batchelors Point' c. 3km S of Carrick village, Co. Donegal. Roughly oval circular to oval promontory of c. 0.23ha that projects SW into Teelin Bay at an altitude of 8m OD. The headland is cut off from the mainland by an earthen bank and ditch drawn in an arc across the neck on the NE. The bank is c. 4.3m wide and up to 2.28m high, while the ditch is c. 6m wide and is on average 1.8m deep. The bank and ditch have been largely levelled towards the NW, where a 2.7m gap possibly indicates the position of an entrance leading out to the NE. The only features visible in the interior are a knoll of rock outcrop on the W side and a field wall which divides the interior from NE to SW. The site is located in pasture.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -960410  Y:  7290169  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -8.62750696626465  Latitude:  54.628874174797076  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Donegal
Historic County:  Donegal
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Derrylahan
The bank and ditch have been largely destroyed on the NW side
Extant   | ✓ |
Cropmark   | ✗ |
Likely Destroyed   | ✓ |
None
Woodland   | ✗ |
Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
Parkland   | ✗ |
Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
Arable   | ✗ |
Scrub/Bracken   | ✓ |
Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
Heath   | ✗ |
Built-up   | ✗ |
Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
This coastal promontory is roughly oval, occupying a headland of c. 0.46ha that projects SW into Teelin Bay at an altitude of 8m OD. The headland is cut off from the mainland by an earthen bank with an external ditch drawn in an arc across the neck on the NE.
Contour Fort   | ✗ |
Partial Contour Fort   | ✗ |
Promontory Fort   | ✓ |
Hillslope Fort   | ✗ |
Level Terrain Fort   | ✗ |
Marsh Fort   | ✗ |
Multiple Enclosure Fort   | ✗ |
Hilltop   | ✗ |
Coastal Promontory   | ✓ |
Inland Promontory   | ✗ |
Valley Bottom   | ✗ |
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   | ✗ |
Ridge   | ✗ |
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   | ✗ |
Hillslope   | ✗ |
Lowland   | ✗ |
Spur   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  SW-facing promontory
North   | ✗ |
Northeast   | ✗ |
East   | ✗ |
Southeast   | ✗ |
South   | ✗ |
Southwest   | ✓ |
West   | ✗ |
Northwest   | ✗ |
Level   | ✗ |
Altitude:  8.0m
N/A
There is no dating available for the site
Reliability:  D - None
Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
Post AD800   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✓ |
Pre Hillfort:   | None |
Post Hillfort:   | None |
The defences are depicted on the first edition OS six-inch map (1840's) and the 25-inch second edition. Surveyed during the early 1980s for the compilation of the Archaeological Inventory of Co. Donegal.
1st Identified Map Depiction (1840):   | OS six-inch mapping |
Earthwork Survey (1983):   | Brian Lacy (Donegal Archaeological Survey) |
There are no recorded internal features
None
None   | ✓ |
Spring   | ✗ |
Stream   | ✗ |
Pool   | ✗ |
Flush   | ✗ |
Well   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
No Known Features   | ✓ |
Round Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Rectangular Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Curvilinear Platforms   | ✗ |
Other Roundhouse Evidence   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Postholes   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
No Known Geophysics   | ✓ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
No Known Finds   | ✓ |
Pottery   | ✗ |
Metal   | ✗ |
Metalworking   | ✗ |
Human Bones   | ✗ |
Animal Bones   | ✗ |
Lithics   | ✗ |
Environmental   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
APs Not Checked   | ✓ |
None   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Postholes   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
The bank and ditch have been largely destroyed as they approach the NW side. A 2.7m gap in the bank and ditch at this location may indicate the position of an entrance however due to this destruction it is impossible to be certain without excavation.
1:   | None |
2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
1. Simple Gap (North east):   | None |
The headland is cut off from the mainland by an earthen bank and ditch drawn in an arc across the neck on the NE. The bank is c. 4.3m wide and up to 2.28m high, while the ditch is c. 6m wide and is on average 1.8m deep. The bank and ditch have been largely levelled towards the NW
Area 1:   | 0.23ha. |
Total:   | 0.23ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.3ha.
None
✗   | None |
✗   | None |
NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
SE Quadrant:   | 0 |
SW Quadrant:   | 0 |
NW Quadrant:   | 0 |
Total:   | 1 |
Partial Univallate   | ✓ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
Stone Wall   | ✗ |
Rubble   | ✗ |
Wall-walk   | ✗ |
Evidence of Timber   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
Berm   | ✗ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✗ |
Stone Wall   | ✗ |
Murus Duplex   | ✗ |
Timber-framed   | ✗ |
Timber-laced   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
Berm   | ✗ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
Other   | ✗ |
✗   | None |
✓   | None |
Number of Ditches:  1
✗   | None |
Lacey, B. 1983. Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. Lifford
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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
Document Version 1.1