Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database CO144-034001 (None)
NMR: CO 144 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 538186 Y: 534424 (IRENET95)
This coastal promontory is situated c. 2km SE of Ardfield town on the W coast of Co. Cork. It can be described as a narrow, E-sloping headland on W side Dunnycove Bay at an altitude of 23m OD. It is recorded on the first edition OS six-inch map as the site of Dunnycove Castle (1842). The slope runs E down from mainland to a silted-up ditch 2m in width and 1m in depth, situated immediately in front of the grass-covered remains of Dunnycove castle (CO144-034002). Westropp (1914, 96) describes the ditch as 'cut in the rock, 6 feet deep and 12 feet wide'. He considered traces of walling along edge of promontory as a feature of earliest defences on site but similar walling at Dooneendermotmore (CO151-040) was Late Medieval in date and contemporary with the remains of a medieval house (Power et al. 1992).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -989796 Y: 6720773 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -8.891491508329912 Latitude: 51.558980315067345 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Cork
Historic County: Cork
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Dunnycove
Only traces of original promontory fort survive consisting of silted-up ditch. Walling along edge of promontory probably relate to the later medieval activity on the headland.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
The site is free from overgrowth and is currently in pasture with some coastal grassland towards the W.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
The site is situated on a narrow, E-sloping spur overlooking Dunnycove strand and a number of smaller bays. At an Altitude of 23m OD, it falls precipitously to a lower rock platform, to the south of which runs a small creek, with parallel sides. The original promontory was defended by a single rock-cut ditch which ran in front of the Medieval castle.
| 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: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✓ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 23.0m
N/A
The site is not 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: | Occupied by later castle |
The original fort is not depicted on any of the OS six-inch maps of the area. Westropp (1914, 96) describes ditch as 'cut in the rock, 6 feet deep and 12 feet wide'. He considered traces of walling along edge of promontory as feature of earliest defences on site. Subsequently surveyed by Archaeological Survey in 1986 who suggested that walls were probably related to later fortification of the site (Power et al. 1992, 127).
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1914): | Thomas Westropp |
| Earthwork Survey (1986): | Cork Archaeological Survey |
A number of structures are recorded in the interior of the site however, these relate to the Later Medieval activity at the site.
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
These structures relate to the Later Medieval fortification of the site.
| 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 | ✗ |
These structures relate to the Later Medieval fortification of the site.
| APs Not Checked | ✗ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✓ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
There are no recorded entrances to the site
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
There are no recorded ramparts at the site. Westropp considered traces of walling along edge of promontory as a feature of earliest defences on site but these probably relate to later medieval fortifications. Westropp (1914, 96) describes ditch as 'cut in the rock, 6 feet deep and 12 feet wide'.
| Area 1: | 0.2ha. |
| Total: | 0.2ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.23ha.
None
| ✗ | Much of the promontory is bare rock descending to the high water mark |
| ✗ | There are no recorded ramparts at the site. Westropp considered traces of walling along edge of promontory as feature of earliest defences on site but these probably relate to later medieval fortifications. |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 0 |
| 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 |
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.
Westropp, T.J. 1914. Fortified headlands and castles on the south coast of Munster. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 32C, 104-105.
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