HER:  Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database DG018-031 (None)
NMR:  DG 018 (None)
SM:  None
NGR:  None
X:  631369  Y:  936109  (IRENET95)
This coastal promontory is located at 'Mount Paul' on the E shore of Lough Swilly, Co. Donegal. It is roughly triangular promontory of c. 0.34ha overall that projects SW from the mainland at an altitude of 23m OD. It is enclosed on the E by a bank composed of earth and stone and is cut off from the mainland on the NE by a steep drop into a gully spanned by an artificially constructed causeway c. 2m wide. The site has suffered significantly from coastal erosion.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -835745  Y:  7395179  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -7.50762443615578  Latitude:  55.171276647759115  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Donegal
Historic County:  Donegal
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Linsfort
The site has suffered from erosion
| 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   | ✗ |
This site can be described as a roughly triangular promontory of c. 0.34ha that projects SW from the mainland into Lough Swilly at an altitude of 23m OD. It is enclosed to the E by a bank and is cut off from the mainland by a steep drop.
| 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:  SW-facing promontory
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✗ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✗ |
| Southwest   | ✓ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✗ |
Altitude:  23.0m
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 headland is marked as 'Mount Paul' on the first edition of the OS six-inch map (1840s). Surveyed during the early 1980s for the compilation of the archaeological inventory of Co. Donegal (Lacy 1983)
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1840):   | Os six-inch mapping |
| Earthwork Survey (1983):   | Brian Lacy (Donegal Archaeological Survey) |
There are no recorded internal featues
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   | ✗ |
It is approached from the NE by an artificially constructed causeway c. 2m wide dropping 2m on the SW side and 4m on the SE side.
| 0:   | None |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
| 1. Other Forms (North east):   | Approached by a causeway across a natural gully |
It is enclosed on the E by an earth and stone bank and is cut off from the mainland on the NE by a steep drop into a natural gully (No other information available)
| Area 1:   | 0.21ha. |
| Total:   | 0.21ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  0.34ha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✗   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 0 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 0 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 0 |
| Total:   | 1 |
| 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:  0
| ✗   | None |
Lacey, B. 1983. Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. Lifford
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