Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR1051 Slieve, Louth

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database LH003-038 (None)

NMR:  LH 003 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  698570  Y:  810720  (IRENET95)

Summary

Oval inland promontory fort with a total site footprint of approximately 0.2ha positioned on a hilltop with sheer slopes defining the E half of the fort and an earth and stone bank around the W half. The fort overlooks Castletown River to the S and a number of small streams at the base of the hill to the N. No obvious entrance features recorded. No evidence for any internal features on the surface. The entire monument is under dense woodland. First map depiction and earthwork survey in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping. Site survey by Buckley and Sweetman (1991).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -723045  Y:  7177021  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -6.495222320435634  Latitude:  54.036231954030136  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Louth

Historic County:  Louth

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Slieve

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

None

Current Use:
Woodland   ✓
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✗
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✗
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✗

Landscape

Hillfort Type

Positioned on the E side of ridge with sheer slopes all around, inland promontory fort overlooking Castletown River to the S and a number of small streams at the base of the hill to the NE.

Type:
Contour Fort   ✗
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✓
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✗
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✗
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✓
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✗
Spur   ✗

Dominant Topographic Feature:  Ridge.

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✓
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✗

Altitude:  47.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

None.

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Described as a fort in the first edition Ordnance Survey maps without any further depiction or record. First map depiction and earthwork survey in second edition Ordnance Survey mapping. Site survey by Buckley and Sweetman (1991).

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1906):   Second edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey mapping.
Other (1986):   Site survey by Buckley.

Interior Features

No evidence for any internal features on the surface.

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✓
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

NO APPARENT FEATURES

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✗
None   ✓
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

No obvious entrance features recorded.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Oval area defined by a single earthen bank that measures approximately 7m wide and 1m high, positioned at the SW, W and N side of hilltop (Buckley and Sweetman 1991). This bank cuts off the remainder of the summit of the hilltop. The other sides of the fort are defined by a significant drop in slope.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.07ha.
Total:   0.07ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.17ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✓
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗
Unknown   ✗

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✓
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✗   No recorded ditch features.

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None.

References

Buckley, V and Sweetman, D. 1991. Archaeological inventory of County Louth, 95. The stationary Office, Dublin.



Terms of Use

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


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