Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database CO117-003 (None)
NMR: CO 117 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 491211 Y: 545571 (IRENET95)
The promontory is situated at Reen point, c. 5km NW of Durrus town on the SW coast of Co. Cork. It has extensive views of the Beara peninsula to the N and can be described as a small rectangular area (c. 180m E-W by c. 75m N-S) projecting SW at an altitude of 6m OD from a slightly larger headland that projects N into Bantry Bay. George Carew describes the site in 1602 as 'surrounded by the sea on three sides, the forth being entrenched' (O'Grady 1896). Westropp (1921, 105) found no evidence of the "entrenched headland". Modern field fence now runs across neck of headland for c. 74m. However, beneath this, on N cliff-face, the profile of a silted-up ditch with a bank on its inside was recorded by the Cork Archaeological Survey in the 1980s (Power et al. 1992). There are no recorded internal features such as hut-sites and the site is currently under pasture.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1065574 Y: 6737454 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -9.57221452871025 Latitude: 51.652049145105686 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Cork
Historic County: Cork
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Killoveenoge
While the promontory is intact, very little of the defences remain.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
The site is under pasture with some some areas of gorse and bracken on the E side.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
The promontory has extensive views of the Beara peninsula to the N and can be described as a small, almost level rectangular area projecting SW from slightly larger headland which projects N into Bantry Bay at an altitude of 6m OD.
| 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: 6.0m
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 headland is indicated on the first edition six-inch OS map. George Carew describes the site in 1602 as 'surrounded by the sea on three sides, the forth being entrenched' (O'Grady 1896). Westropp (1921, 105) found no evidence of the "entrenched headland" described by Carew. Cork Archaeological survey note on the N cliff-face, the profile of a silted-up ditch with a bank on its inside can be seen (Power et al. 1992, 128).
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1602): | George Carew (O'Grady 1896) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1842): | OS six-inch mapping |
| Earthwork Survey (1921): | Westropp |
| Earthwork Survey (1985): | Cork Archaeological Survey |
There are no recorded features in the interior of the site.
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 | ✗ |
As only traces of the possible defences survive, it is impossible to determine entrances to the site.
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
Westropp (1921, 105) found no evidence of the "entrenched headland" described by George Carew in 1602. Modern field fence now runs across neck of headland. Beneath this, on N cliff-face, the profile of a silted-up ditch with a bank on its inside can be seen.
| Area 1: | 1.25ha. |
| Total: | 1.25ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 1.69ha.
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 | ✗ |
Modern field fence now runs across neck of headland. Beneath this, on N cliff-face, the profile of a silted-up fosse with a bank on its inside can be seen
| 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 |
| ✗ | Profile of a silted-up ditch with a bank on its inside can be seen on the N side. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
O'Grady, S. 1896. Picta Hibernia: A history of the Wars of Ireland. Downey and Co. London
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. 1921. The promontory forts of Beare and Bantry. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 51, 1-16, 101-16.
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