Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR1055 Oldcourt, Cork

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database CO017-084 (None)

NMR:  CO 017 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  559528  Y:  608056  (IRENET95)

Summary

Near the village of Doneraile, a rectangular inland promontory fort positioned at the intersection between the E-W running Awbeg River and a N-S running Bregoge River. The fort is bounded on the E, S and W by steep slopes to the floor of the river valleys and a now levelled set of banks cut off the neck on the N. There is no obvious entrance feature apparent. No apparent archaeological features on the surface of the interior. The interior has been landscaped and turned into a golf course. The enclosing elements have been levelled, but are visible in aerial photograps and as low relief grass covered banks. Not identified in any historic mapping. Site survey by Power in 2000.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -956496  Y:  6840506  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -8.592354198567683  Latitude:  52.22276877983832  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Cork

Historic County:  Cork

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Oldcourt

Monument Condition

Visible in most aerial photographs as two linear features delimiting the S section of this promontory.

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Golf course.

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

Inland promontory fort positioned at intersection between the E-W running Awbeg River and a N-S running Bregoge River. The triangular shaped fort is bounded on the E, S and W by steep slopes to the floor of the river valleys and a now levelled set of banks cut off the N neck of the promontory.

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:  Promontory.

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

Altitude:  75.0m

Boundary

The Awbeg and Bregoge Rivers form the boundaries of Byblox, Horseclose and Oldcourt townlands.

Boundary Type:  None


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

Not identified in any historic mapping. Site survey by Power in 2000.

Investigations:
Other (2000):   Site survey by Power.

Interior Features

The interior has been landscaped and turned into a golf course. There are no apparent archaeological features on the surface of the interior.

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

Rectangular area defined by levelled E-W running banks visible on aerial photographs. The fort is bounded on the E, S and W by steep slopes to the floor of the Awbeg and Bregoge Rivers. Power (2000) noted two low grass-covered undulations crossing fairway of golf course. These features are likely to correspond with the features visible in aerial photography.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.5ha.
Total:   0.5ha.

Total Footprint Area:  1.5ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Measurements supplied by Power indicate the interior extends to no more than 0.5ha, though features visible on satellite imagery crossing the fairway in the position he describes S of the burial ground indicate an area possibly as much as 1.1ha

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   2
Total:   2

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 obvious ditch features apparent.

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None.

References

Power, D. 2000. Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork. 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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