Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database MA085-015001 (None)
NMR: MA 085 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 468768 Y: 784171 (IRENET95)
Located on the S end of Clare Island off the W coast of Co. Mayo, this coastal promontory fort is marked as 'Doonagappul' on the first edition OS six-inch map (1839). Projecting SW from the Island between Ooghnagappul and Portacoolia coves, it is triangular (0.13ha overall) and is cut off from the mainland on the ENE by two lines of defence separated by a gap that Westropp described as a 'banquette' (1914, 327). The inner comprises a wall of large blocks and and external ditch drawn in a shallow arc across the neck. The wall, measuring 15m in length by 2.7m in thickness, was already nearly levelled by the early twentieth century, and the accompanying ditch is c. 2m wide and 3m deep. The outer ditch is 22m long and 3.9m wide, and is drawn across the neck in an almost straight line; its internal bank, which is 3m wide and c. 1.8m high, is surmounted by the foundations of a stone wall 2m wide. The internal area is apparently featureless, although a slight circular mound was noted by Westropp in 1914.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -1112274 Y: 7130586 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -9.991723373632325 Latitude: 53.790535132759594 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Mayo (Clare Island)
Historic County: Mayo
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Strake
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 | ✗ |
Located on the S end of Clare Island off the W coast of Co. Mayo, this coastal promontory fort is marked as 'Doonagappul' on the first edition OS six-inch map (1839). Projecting SW from the Island between Ooghnagappul and Portacoolia coves, it is a triangular headland (0.13ha) defended to the NE by a number of earthworks running in a roughly NS direction across the promontory.
| 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: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✓ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 3.0m
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 'Doonagappul' on the first edition OS six-inch maps (1839). First visited and surveyed by Thomas Westropp in 1914
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1839): | OS six-inch mapping |
| Earthwork Survey (1914): | Thomas Westropp |
There are no visible internal features, although a slight circular mound was noted by Westropp in 1914.
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 | ✗ |
There are no recorded breaks through the defences
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
It is cut off from the mainland on the ENE by two lines of defence separated by a gap about 3m wide. The inner comprises a wall of large blocks and and external ditch drawn in a shallow arc across the neck. The wall, measuring 15m in length by 2.7m in thickness, was already nearly levelled by the early twentieth century, and the accompanying ditch is c. 2m wide and 3m deep. The outer ditch is 22m long and 3.9m wide, and is drawn across the neck in an almost straight line; its internal bank, which is 3m wide and c. 1.8m high, is surmounted by the foundations of a stone wall 2m wide
| Area 1: | 0.03ha. |
| Total: | 0.03ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.13ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 0 |
| 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 | ✗ |
Earthen bank surmounted with stone wall along with a single stone wall at the inner defence
| 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 |
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