Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database MA006-011001 (None)
NMR: MA 006 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 501876 Y: 841352 (IRENET95)
This small coastal promontory fort is situated N of Glenlossera Lodge on a steep cliff face opposite 'Cashlaunicrobin Rock or Goat Island' c. 2.9km NW of Beldeg Village, Co. Mayo. The site is not recorded on any edition of the OS six-inch maps and occupies the W angle of a larger irregular promontory descending to the sea on the N. Two banks with a medial ditch have been drawn in an arc across the E side to block access to a triangle of ground no more than 0.06ha in extent. The inner bank is 3.9m-4.5m wide and 2-4m high above the bottom of the ditch, which is 6m wide and ranges from 2.4m deep to a maximum of 3.6m deep where it cuts deeply into the slope at the cliff edge on the N. The outer bank is 2.4m wide and survives only on the SE (Westropp 1914, 120). Westropp records a pit dug into the inner bank to the N which revealed two large stones in a line 'like the side of a cist'. This may be the remains of an inner revetment bank, but this cannot be confirmed without excavation. A possible entrance or 'narrow gangway' 3m wide was noted on the E. There are no recorded internal features.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1058420 Y: 7229367 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -9.507948907757276 Latitude: 54.31147147398808 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Mayo
Historic County: Mayo
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Gleannlasra
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 | ✗ |
This coastal promontory is situated N of Glenlossera Lodge on a steep cliff face opposite 'Cashlaunicrobin Rock or Goat Island'. It is on the W margin of an irregular promontory and is enclosed by two bank and a medial ditch.
| 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: W-facing promontory
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 25.0m
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: | Westropp noted disturbance to the inner bank in 1912 which revealed a series of upright stones (1912, 119). |
The site is not marked on any edition of the OS six-inch maps. Surveyed by Thomas Westropp in 1912 who noted remains of defences enclosing an area of 0.06ha.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1912): | Thomas J. Westropp |
There are no recorded internal features
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 | ✗ |
A possible entrance or 'narrow gangway' noted to the E. It is c. 3m wide and may be an original feature.
| 1: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (East): | None |
The promontory can be described as a sub-circular enclosure boldly convex to the land with an outer bank 2.4m wide, of which only the S portion remains. The associated ditch is 6m wide and 2.4m deep. It is 3.6m deep at the N where it cuts deeply into the slope at the cliff edge. The inner bank is 3.9m-4.5m wide and 2-4m higher than the bottom of the ditch.
| Area 1: | 0.06ha. |
| Total: | 0.06ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.09ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| 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 | ✗ |
Arc of two earthen banks with an intervening ditch.
| 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: 1
| ✗ | None |
Westropp, T.J. 1912. The promontory forts and early remains of the coasts of County Mayo. Part 1- The north coast (Tirawley and Erris). The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 42, 59-139.
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