Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database KE078-014 (None)
NMR: KE 078 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 436370 Y: 576261 (IRENET95)
This fort, known locally as ÇDoonroe/An D–n Rua', is situated on a triangular promontory of c. 0.37ha, near Culloo Head on the N side of Valencia Island in SW Co. Kerry. The site is not depicted on any editions of the OS 6-inch maps. The fort rises gradually from its landward end towards its centre, where it drops sharply to the cliff-edge on the N at an altitude of 19m OD. It measures internally 74m wide at its landward end and is 58m long. It is defended by two banks and ditches that curve across the base of the headland over a distance of 76m from WSW to ENE, and towards the ENE end are traversed by a causeway (Westropp 1912, 302). According to Westropp (1912), the inner bank was surmounted by the remains of a dry stone wall, none of which survives today. The entrance causeway, which measures 12.8m long and 2m wide, is lined with three slabs, now recumbent. Two others lie inside and a further two outside the entrance (Redmond 1995, 38). According to Westropp, these slabs originally stood upright, forming the sides of an entrance passage or gateway. A pair of conjoined, semi-circular hut-sites are recorded 34m from the entrance, one of which has a slab-lined entrance. These are now heavily overgrown and appear to be filled with collapse. The promontory is currently under rough moorland pasture.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1155343 Y: 6784666 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -10.378626136060372 Latitude: 51.91441712186471 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Kerry (Iveragh Peninsula)
Historic County: Kerry
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Cool East
None
| 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 | ✗ |
Triangular coastal promontory of c. 0.37ha, near Culloo Head on the N side of Valencia Island in SW Co. Kerry. The fort rises gradually from its landward end towards its centre, where it drops sharply towards the N edge at an altitude of 19m OD. It is defended by two banks and a ditch that curve across the base of the headland from WSW to ENE, and are traversed by a causeway.
| 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: N-facing promontory
| North | ✓ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 19.0m
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: | None |
The site is not depicted on any editions of the OS six-inch maps. Surveyed by Westropp in 1912 and visited for the compilation of the Iveragh Archaeological Inventory in the 1990s (O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, 128).
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1912): | Westropp |
| Earthwork Survey (1996): | O'Sullivan and Sheehan |
Pair of conjoined, semi-circular hut-sites are recorded 34m from the entrance, one of which has a slab-lined entrance. These are now heavily overgrown and appear to be filled with collapse. The E example measures 4.4m by 4m internally. Access to the second hut was through a 2.1m long passage, now collapsed. The internal diameter of this hut is 3.7m.
None
| 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 | ✗ |
At the E end of the defences is the entrance causeway which measures 12.8m long and 2m wide, lined with three slabs, now recumbent. Two others lie inside and a further two outside the entrance (Redmond 1995, 38). According to Westropp, these slabs originally stood upright, forming the sides of an entrance passage or gateway.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Passage-way/Corridor (South east): | None |
Promontory defended by two banks and ditches that curve across the base of the headland from WSW to ENE. The inner bank is 4.8m in width at the base by 2.6m in height above the bottom of the inner ditch. According to Westropp (1912), the inner bank was surmounted by the remains of a dry stone wall, none of which survives today. The inner ditch varies from 2.4m to 4.5m wide. The outer bank measures 2.1m in maximum width by im above the bottom of the outer ditch, which averages 4.1m wide.
| Area 1: | 0.37ha. |
| Total: | 0.37ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.39ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✓ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
None
| 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: 2
| ✗ | None |
O'Sullivan, A and Sheehan, J. 1996. Iveragh Peninsula: An Archaeological Survey of South Kerry. Cork University Press. Cork
Redmond, M. 1995. A survey of the promontory forts of the Kerry peninsulas. Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society 28, 5-63.
Westropp, T.J. 1912. Notes on the promontory forts and similar structures of County Kerry. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 42, 285-324
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