Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

IR1100 Fawnmore (An Fán Mór), Galway

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database GA009B010 (None)

NMR:  GA 009 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  None

X:  452422  Y:  766321  (IRENET95)

Summary

This coastal promontory forms a rocky headland on the N side of Inishbofin, off the W coast of Co. Galway. It can be described as an irregular, uneven outcrop of land measuring approximately 80m by 54m, flanked by deep coastal chasm at an altitude of 14m OD. The site is not depicted on any edition of the OS six-inch map series. The enclosing element consists of a curving and much collapsed wall on the SE, measuring 2.6m in width by c. 1m in height. The wall is faced intermittently along both the inside and out. There are no recorded entrances or gaps through the wall and nothing remains within the interior. Immediately outside the wall are the remains of a circular hut-site c. 2.5m in diameter.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -1138922  Y:  7099618  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -10.231112244441011  Latitude:  53.62587509697786  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Republic of Ireland

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Fawnmore (Inishbofin)

Historic County:  Galway

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Fawnmore

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

This coastal promontory is forms a rocky headland on the N side of Inishbofin at an altitude of 14m OD. It can be described as an irregular, uneven outcrop of land measuring approximately 80m by 54m, flanked by deep coastal chasms and enclosed by a curving and much collapsed wall on the SE side.

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:  NW-facing promontory

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

Altitude:  14.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

There is no dating evidence available for the site.

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

The site is not depicted on any edition of the OS six-inch map series. The site was not visited for the compilation of the Galway Archaeological Inventory but information was supplied by Marcus Casey (Gosling 1993, 29).

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1983):   Gosling

Interior Features

There are no recorded features within the interior of the site, almost half of which is bare outcrop. However, the remains of a circular hut-site c. 2.5m in diameter is noted immediately outside the enclosing wall on the SE.

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

There are no recorded entrances or gaps through the wall

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

The enclosing element consists of a curving and much collapsed wall on the SE side that measures 2.6m in width by c. 1m in height. The wall is has intermittent inner and outer facing

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.79ha.
Total:   0.79ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.9ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   0
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:
✗   None

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None

References

Gosling, P. 1993. The Archaeological Inventory of County Galway: Vol 1, 28-31.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


Document Version 1.1