Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR0795 Knockbrack, Dublin

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database DU004-012006 (None)

NMR:  DU 004 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  715370  Y:  759428  (IRENET95)

Summary

Univallate contour fort on domed summit of isolated hilltop overlooking low-lying terrain in all directions. Visible in aerial photography as a vegetation mark. Univallate for the entire circuit. Aerial photographs suggest there is an internal ditch. More recent aerial photographs show evidence for a possible inner palisade trench along the SW and SE sections. It has a total site foot print of approximately 9.1ha. No obvious entrance feature recorded. A barrow is positioned at the highest point of the interior. There are no other features visible on the surface. First identified by Keeling in 1983.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -696646  Y:  7089520  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.258081764798149  Latitude:  53.572043535913316  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Dublin

Historic County:  Dublin

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Knockbrack

Monument Condition

Visible as a vegetation mark in aerial photography.

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

Univallate contour fort on domed summit of isolated hilltop overlooking low-lying terrain in all directions. Panoramic views from the summit.

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:  None

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  176.0m

Boundary

NE section of hillfort is in Lecklintown. The remainder is in Knockbrack townland.

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


Dating Evidence

No dating evidence.

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:   Six barrow monuments within or to immediate N of now levelled enclosing elements of the hillfort.
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

First identified by Keeling in 1983.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1983):   Keeling 1983.

Interior Features

Six barrow monuments within or to immediate N of now levelled enclosing elements of the hillfort. One barrow is positioned at the centre of the hillfort at the highest point.

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

Six barrows

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

Entrances

No obvious entrance features recorded.

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 enclosing elements are visible on aerial photographs as a cropmark. The SW section of the bank was apparent up until the 1906 Ordnance Survey mapping program as a curving field boundary. Aerial photographs suggest there is an internal ditch. More recent aerial photographs show evidence for a possible inner palisade trench along the SW and SE sections.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   9.11ha.
Total:   9.11ha.

Total Footprint Area:  9.11ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

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

Possible palisade trench revealed as cropmark

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:
✓   Aerial photographs suggest internal ditch

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None.

References

Keeling, D. 1983. A group of tumuli and a hillfort near Naul, County Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 113, 67-74.



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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