Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database OF004-004 (None)
NMR: OF 004 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 657589 Y: 738169 (IRENET95)
Near the village of Castlejordan, a sub-rectangular partial contour fort with a total site footprint of approximately 0.4ha is positioned in a commanding position on the NW edge of a prominent hill ridge surrounded by low-lying terrain and overlooking the Yellow River to the N. Univallate for the entire circuit, with a simple entrance gap in the NE. No evidence for any internal features on the surface. The enclosing elements have been damaged at the SW where quarrying has encroached upon the monument. The external ditch has been in-filled and is not visible at the N or W. The surviving sections of the enclosing elements are under dense tree cover. The interior is under pasture. First map depiction in first edition Ordnance Survey mapping. More detailed earthwork survey in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping. Site survey by O'Brien and Sweetman in 1997.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Unconfirmed
X: -794178 Y: 7055566 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -7.13422325543003 Latitude: 53.390538564969916 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Offaly
Historic County: Offaly
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Killowen
The SW section of the enclosing elements has been damaged by quarrying.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Dense tree cover over enclosing elements.
| Woodland | ✓ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Partial contour fort positioned on the NW edge of a commanding hill ridge in low-lying terrain. The N, S and W sections of the fort follow the contours of the hill and the E portion of the enclosing elements run across slope. Panoramic views from the summit. The site overlooks the Yellow River to the immediate N.
| 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: Hill ridge.
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 93.0m
N/A
None.
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 map depiction in first edition Ordnance Survey mapping. More detailed earthwork survey in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping. Site survey by O'Brien and Sweetman in 1997.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1842): | First edition Ordnance Survey 6 inch mapping. |
| Earthwork Survey (1906): | Second edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey mapping. |
| Other (1997): | Site survey by O'Brien and Sweetman. |
No evidence for any internal features on the surface.
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 | ✗ |
Entrance gap recorded by O'Brien and Sweetman (1997) at the NE. This comprises a simple break in the enclosing elements and a 'ramp' over the outer ditch.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (North east): | None |
Sub-rectangular area defined by a large earthen bank approximately 4m wide and 2.75m high (O'Brien and Sweetman 1997). There is an external ditch that is approximately 8m wide. This survives best in the E and S and is in-filled elsewhere. The SW section of the enclosing elements has been damaged by quarrying.
| Area 1: | 0.2ha. |
| Total: | 0.2ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.42ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| 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 |
| ✓ | Wide external ditch. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None. |
O'Brien, C and Sweetman, D. 1997. Archaeological inventory of County Offaly. 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