HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database CO105-018 (None)
NMR:  CO 105 (None)
SM:  None
NGR:  None
X:  496934  Y:  552895  (IRENET95)
The site is located c. 4km E of Ballylicky town, West Cork. It lies on a small area of land c. 10m in length that barely projects SW into Bantry Bay at an altitude of 10m OD. The promontory is enclosed by a curving, overgrown earthen bank c. 2.7m in height and an external ditch with an average depth of 1.4m. It is depicted on the first edition OS six-inch map (1842) as a semi-circular enclosure on a low headland. The interior of the fort is almost completely eroded by the sea.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -1056611  Y:  6749466  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -9.491698842408338  Latitude:  51.718943590759366  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Cork
Historic County:  Cork
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ardaturrish
While the bank and ditch of the promontory are quite overgrown, much of the interior of the fort has been completely eroded by the sea.
| Extant   | ✓ |
| Cropmark   | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✓ |
The surviving bank and ditch are overgrown with scrub. Most of the interior has been eroded by the sea.
| Woodland   | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✗ |
| Arable   | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
The fort is located on a slight SW-facing slope at an altitude of 10m OD. It is a small area of land of c. 0.02ha enclosed by an earthen bank and an external ditch.
| 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:  10.0m
N/A
There is no dating evidence for the site. It has not been scientifically dated.
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 |
First indicated on the 1842 OS 6-inch ordnance survey map as small area of land defended by an arching bank. The site was visited and inspected by the Cork Archaeological Survey in 1985 for the compilation of the Archaeological Inventory of West Cork (Power et al. 1992).
| Earthwork Survey (1985):   | Cork Archaeological Survey |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1902):   | Second edition 6-inch mapping |
There are no surface features within the interior of the site. It is quite eroded and much as collapsed into the sea.
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   | ✗ |
There are no indications of any entrances on the early 6-inch maps of the site. Archaeological Survey of Ireland also do not record any entrances to the site. Any original entrance may have been eroded away.
| 0:   | 6-inch OS maps do not depict any entrances through the earthworks |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
Single curving bank, 2.7m in height with an external ditch, 1.4m in depth.
| Area 1:   | 0.02ha. |
| Total:   | 0.02ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.05ha.
None
| ✗   | Much of the interior of the site has since been eroded away. |
| ✗   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 0 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 0 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 1 |
| 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 |
| ✓   | Single exterior ditch 1.4m in depth |
Number of Ditches:  1
| ✗   | None |
Power, D., Byrne, E., Egan, U., Lane, S., and Sleeman, M. 1992. Archaeological Inventory of County Cork Volume 1: West Cork, 126-130. The stationary Office, Dublin.
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