Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database LH008-085 (None)
NMR: LH 008 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 716516 Y: 805611 (IRENET95)
This coastal promontory fort is located c. 5.5km S of Calingford and c. 10km E of Dundalk Town. Situated on the coastal escarpment adjacent to the Castletown River, the site was completely removed in the course of gravel extraction prior to 1985. Once situated in a commanding position on the N side of Dundalk Bay at an altitude of 18m OD, the triangular promontory measured 55m NW-SE by a maximum of 31m NE-SW and was cut off by a much degraded bank and ditch (Wth 9.5m by Dpth. 2m) on the landward side to the NW. A small V-shaped ditch cut off the apex of the site on the seaward side. There were no recorded internal features or formal entrances to the site as the interior had been bulldozed level prior to 1966 (Buckley and Sweetman 1991, 95).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -692780 Y: 7167620 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -6.223347984824424 Latitude: 53.98660570678583 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Louth
Historic County: Louth
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Mountbagnall
Destroyed by gravel extraction
| Extant | ✗ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
None
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Once situated in a commanding position projecting S into Dundalk Bay at an altitude of 18m OD. The triangular neck of land was cut off by a much degraded bank and ditch on the landward side to the N. A small V-shaped ditch cut off the apex of the site on the seaward side.
| 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: 18.0m
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: | Bulldozed by 1966, the site was completely removed in the course of gravel extraction prior to 1985 |
The site is depicted as a 'promontory fort' on the second edition six-inch OS map. The interior of the site was bulldozed level prior to 1966 and completely removed in the course of gravel extraction sometime before 1985 (Buckley and Sweetman 1991, 65).
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1900): | Second edition six-inch OS mapping |
There are no recorded internal features
The Castletown River is situated adjacent to the site.
| 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 recorded entrances to the site
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
The triangular neck of land measured 55m NW-SE by 31m NE-SW and was 18m above sea-level, being cut off by a much degraded bank and ditch (Wth 9.5m by Dpth. 2m) on the landward side to the N. A small V-shaped ditch cut off the apex of the site on the seaward side.
| Area 1: | 0.07ha. |
| Total: | 0.07ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.26ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | Second edition OS map shows hachures round the whole promontory, but this is probbaly no more than the continuation of the coastal escarpment |
| 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 | ✗ |
Rampart once consisted of an earthen bank. No longer survives
| 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 |
Buckley, V and Sweetman, D. 1991. Archaeological inventory of County Louth, 95. 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