Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record ANT028:023 (None)
NMR: ANT 028 (None)
SM: ANT028:023
NGR: D1367011070
X: 713597 Y: 911058 (IRENET95)
Circular contour fort located at the summit of Carncoagh Hill in Co. Antrim. There are panoramic views from the summit, with particularly impressive visibility of the low-lying terrain to the W and NW. The enclosing elements are best preserved at the S, where they consist of a bank-ditch-bank arrangement. The inner bank is a maximum 4.2m wide and 0.6m high. The intervening ditch is approximately 4m wide, 1.2m below the crest of the inner bank and 0.8m below the outer bank. The outer bank measures 8m wide and is up to 1.5m in height, but is quite denuded in places. The remainder of the enclosure is apparent in some aerial photographs and is visible on the surface at the N as a 0.6m high scarp. There are no obvious entrance features apparent. There are no obvious features visible on the surface. There are natural rock outcrops at the N and S, as well as surface evidence for cultivation ridges. Although there is no evidence to date the hillfort itself, a possible souterrain within the interior of the fort implies the site was reoccupied during the Early Medieval period around 700-900 AD. The site is currently under pasture. The site was surveyed by the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record. First map depiction in the second edition Ordnance Survey mapping as the remains of a possible fort.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -693227 Y: 7349122 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -6.2273645932082236 Latitude: 54.93427943578192 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Northern Ireland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Antrim
Historic County: Antrim
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Skerry
The hillfort is largely levelled but is still visible on the surface as a low earthwork best preserved at the S.
| 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 | ✗ |
Circular contour fort located at the summit of Carncoagh Hill in Co. Antrim. There are panoramic views from the summit, with particularly impressive visibility of the low-lying terrain to the W and NW.
| 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: Carncoagh Hill
| North | ✓ |
| Northeast | ✓ |
| East | ✓ |
| Southeast | ✓ |
| South | ✓ |
| Southwest | ✓ |
| West | ✓ |
| Northwest | ✓ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 261.0m
N/A
Although there is no evidence to date the hillfort itself, a possible souterrain within the interior of the fort implies the site was reoccupied during the Early Medieval period around 700-900 AD.
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | Possible souterrain. |
Survey by the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record. First map depiction in the second edition Ordnance Survey mapping as the remains of a possible fort.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1906): | First map depiction in the second edition Ordnance Survey mapping. |
| Other (1990): | Site survey by Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record. |
No obvious features visible on the surface. There are natural rock outcrops at the N and S, as well as surface evidence for cultivation ridges.
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 obvious entrance features apparent.
| 0: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
The enclosing elements are best preserved at the S, where they consist of a bank-ditch-bank arrangement. The inner bank is a maximum 4.2m wide and 0.6m high. The intervening ditch is approximately 4m wide, 1.2m below the crest of the inner bank and 0.8m below the outer bank. The outer bank measures 8m wide and is up to 1.5m in height, but is quite denuded in places. The remainder of the enclosure is apparent in some aerial photographs and is visible on the surface at the N as a 0.6m high scarp.
| Area 1: | 0.62ha. |
| Total: | 0.62ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 0.9ha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✓ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
No information regarding the composition of the bank is available.
| 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 |
| ✓ | The ditch is positioned between two banks. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Records
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