Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database CO151-042 (None)
NMR: CO 151 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 515937 Y: 526787 (IRENET95)
The headland is situated c. 8km S of Skibereen town at Scullane Point on the W coast of Co. Cork. It is not depicted as an entrenched or fortified headland on any edition of the OS six-inch maps. The promontory has extensive views from Castlehaven to the Squince and on to Dundeady and Galley Head and forms a rugged set of knolls, with steep sides thick with furze and heather. It can be described as a roughly triangular area of 2.18ha that projects E into Atlantic at an altitude of 25m OD. Westropp (1914,-16, 98) noted foundations of a wall across the neck of the promontory and says that 12 years prior to his visit 'it had a straight, massive wall of large, thin slabs of dry stone, about 6ft high. This is 161 to 164 ft long (inside and out) and from 18 to 21 ft thick at various points'. He also recorded a lintelled, stone-lined entrance. The wall is now much collapsed and reduced to a bank (H 1.1m; Wth 6m) with some stone facing still visible on both sides. The entrance has also collapsed and remains as a grass-grown break through the bank measuring 2m in width (Power et al. 1992). An external ditch is recorded associated with this bank measuring 6.6m in width and 1.35m in depth however, it is much disturbed by a field fence. A ditch is also recorded inside the bank (Wth 1.2m; D 0.5m) with a causeway at the entrance. Interior is overgrown, with some rock outcropping and there are no recorded internal features.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1025306 Y: 6707978 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -9.210481726008327 Latitude: 51.487465324769495 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Cork
Historic County: Cork
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Gortacrossig
While some of the defences are still intact, the extensive wall with lintelled entrance described by Westropp is in a bad state or repair.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
The site is overgrown with heather, scrub and some bracken. Areas of bare outcrop are also visible.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✓ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
The promontory can be described as a roughly triangular area of 2.18ha that projects E into Atlantic at an altitude of 25m OD. The headland slopes gradually to the E and has extensive views from Castlehaven to the Squince and on to Dundeady and Galley Head.
| 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: E-facing promontory
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✓ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 25.0m
N/A
Site 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: | None |
Depicted as 'Scullane Point' on second edition OS six-inch map. Surveyed by Westropp in the early twentieth century noted foundations of walled rampart across neck (1914, 98-9). Survey conducted in 1985 recorded that the wall is now much collapsed along with the lintelled entrance to the interior (Power et al. 1992, 128).
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1902): | OS six-inch mapping |
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1914): | Westropp |
| Earthwork Survey (1985): | Cork 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 | ✗ |
Westropp recorded 'a lintelled, stone-lined entrance' which is now collapsed. Remains as grass covered break (2m) in bank.
| 1: | Single break in bank located at the neck of the promontory to the west. |
| 2: | Possibly original as it is recorded by Westropp as stone lined with a lintel. |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Other Forms (North west): | Westropp recorded 'a lintelled, stone-lined entrance' which is now collapsed. Remains as grass covered break (2m) in bank. |
Westropp recorded walled rampart across the neck of the headland consisting of thin slabs of dry stone about 6ft high.This is 161 to 164 ft long (inside and out) and from 18 to 21 ft thick at various points'. He also recorded a lintelled, stone-lined entrance. The wall is now much collapsed and reduced to a bank (H 1.1m; Wth 6m) with some stone facing still visible on both sides. Entrance is collapsed and remains as grass covered break. A ditch is recorded outside the bank with a depth of 1.35m while another is located inside the wall with a causeway at the entrance.
| Area 1: | 1.86ha. |
| Total: | 1.86ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 2.18ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| 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 |
| ✗ | A ditch is recorded outside the bank (Wth 6.6m; D 1.35m) but is disturbed by field fence to W of entrance. A ditch is also recorded inside the bank (Wth 1.2m; D 0.5m) with causeway at entrance. |
Number of Ditches: 2
| ✗ | 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