Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR1075 Ballycahill, Limerick

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database LI040-271001 (None)

NMR:  LI 040 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  569146  Y:  634372  (IRENET95)

Summary

Near the town of Hospital, a sub-rectangular inland promontory with a total site footprint of approximately 0.8ha positioned on the flood plain at the confluence of the River Camoge and a smaller tributary. The rivers define the site on the NE, SW, W and N. Access from the SE is blocked by double banks and ditches, now visible only as vegetation marks on aerial photographs. The fort is surrounded by a dense distribution of barrow features, including the large multivallate barrow at Rathanny across the Camoge river 50m to the NE. A number of small circular enclosures are visible within the interior. While these may be hut structures, they could also be identified as barrow monuments. Ramparts have been ploughed out. Interior under pasture. This was not identified in either the first or second edition Ordnance Survey maps.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -941096  Y:  6883717  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -8.45400537132951  Latitude:  52.45992411806001  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Limerick

Historic County:  Limerick

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ballycahill

Monument Condition

Visible as a vegetation mark in aerial photography.

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

Inland promontory fort positioned on flood plain at the confluence of the River Camoge and a smaller tributary. The rivers define the site at the NE, SW, W and N. The SE neck of land is defended by a linear bank ditch-bank-ditch feature now visible only as a cropmark. The fort is surrounded by a dense distribution of barrow features, including the large multivallate barrow at Rathanny across the Camoge river 50m 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:  Promontory.

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

Altitude:  82.0m

Boundary

The Camoge River to the N forms the boundary between Ballycahill and Rathanny 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

This was not identified in either the first or second edition Ordnance Survey maps.

Investigations:No related records

Interior Features

A number of small circular enclosures are visible within the interior. While these may be hut structures, considering the dense distribution of such archaeological features in the immediate environs they could be as barrow monuments.

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

Small circular features that may be either hut structures or barrows.

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

Entrances

No obvious entrance feature identified.

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

Sub-rectangular area defined by the River Camoge and a smaller tributary at NE, SW, W and N. The S neck of land is defended by double banks and ditches, now visible only as cropmarks on aerial photographs.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.73ha.
Total:   0.73ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.8ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   0
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:
✓   what appears to be an internal and external ditch in the aerial photographs.

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✗   None.

References

No related records



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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