Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database MA065-007001 (None)
NMR: MA 065 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 468634 Y: 795861 (IRENET95)
This coastal promontory fort is situated at 'Bunnafahy Head' S of Portnahally Bay on the S side of Achill Island off the W coast of Co. Mayo. Marked as 'D–n Bunnafahy' on the second edition OS six-inch map, the headland projects WNW, parallel with the mainland. It has suffered considerably from coastal erosion and the NW end survives only as a long knife-edge of strata running out into the sea. The defences comprise a ditch and an internal bank capped with a dry-stone wall which have been drawn across the neck on the ESE for a distance of c. 27m NNE-SSW. Westropp observed that to the S of a low causeway in the middle of the surviving arc of defences, the ditch is on average 1.2m deep, whereas northwards it is 1.8m-2.7m deep and 7m wide at the top. There are traces of an outer wall also in this area only 0.3m high and 2.4m wide. The inner bank is steep sided and 10m thick, rising c. 6m above the bottom of the ditch and 2.7m above the interior. It is surmounted by a dry-stone wall 2.7m thick and 0.9m high, and built of large, well laid, flat slabs. It is best preserved for 7m S of the centre line. A stone rectangular structure is recorded along the centre of the wall, composed of a 'cist-like structure of slabs, 4 feet 4 inches wide, with apparently a narrow entrance, 22 inches wide, to the west' (Westropp 1914, 309). A circular hollow to the S of the causeway was interpreted by Westropp as a 'porters hut'. There are no recorded internal features.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1113056 Y: 7150387 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -9.998751677430935 Latitude: 53.895485940154146 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Mayo (Achill Island)
Historic County: Mayo
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Dooega
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 | ✗ |
Marked as 'D–n Bunnafahy' on the second edition OS six-inch map, the headland projects WNW, parallel with the mainland. It has suffered considerably from coastal erosion with the NW end surviving as long knife-edge of strata running out into the sea. The site is defended to the ESE by a ditch and and internal bank capped with a dry-stone wall running for c. 27m in NNE-SSW across the neck of the headland.
| 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: NW-facing promontory
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✓ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 10.0m
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 |
Marked as 'D–n Bunnafahy' on the second edition OS six-inch map, the site was visited and surveyed by Westropp in 1914.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1839): | OS six-inch mapping |
| Earthwork Survey (1914): | Thomas Westropp |
There are no recorded internal features. A possible rectangular structure is recorded centrally along the wall which may have provided an entrance to the site while a circular hollow to the S of the causeway was interpreted by Westropp as a 'porters hut'.
A stream is recorded near the head of one of the coves, some 30m away
| 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 stone rectangular structure is recorded along the centre of the wall composed of a 'cist-like structure of slabs, 4 feet 4 inches wide, with apparently a narrow entrance, 22 inches wide, to the west' (Westropp 1914, 309). It is not clear whether this was part of an entrance.
| 1: | It is not clear whether this is a formal entrance |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
The defences comprise a ditch and an internal bank capped with a dry-stone wall which have been drawn across the neck on the ESE for a distance of c. 27m NNE-SSW. Westropp observed that to the S of a causeway in the middle of the surviving arc of defences, the ditch is on average 1.2m deep, whereas northwards it is 1.8m-2.7m deep and 7m wide at the top. There are traces of an outer wall also in this area only 0.3m high and 2.4m wide. The inner bank is steep sided and 10m thick, rising c. 6m above the bottom of the ditch and 2.7m above the interior. It is surmounted by a dry-stone wall 2.7m thick and 0.9m high, and built of large, well laid, flat slabs. It is best preserved for 7m S of the centre line.
| Area 1: | 0.12ha. |
| Total: | 0.12ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.13ha.
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: 1
| ✗ | None |
Westropp, T.J. 1914. The promontory forts and early remains of islands of Connacht. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 44, 297-337.
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