Field boundary, Cnoc Fola, Co. Donegal
Co. Donegal |
Ritual/Ceremonial
On a dramatic promontory near Bloody Foreland in County Donegal, south of Rinardalliff Point, lies a complex archaeological landscape where numerous features overlap across centuries of use.
The most striking element is a massive defensive fosse, roughly 12 metres wide and 3 metres deep, which cuts the promontory off from the mainland. Behind this impressive ditch stand the ruins of a boulder wall, whilst the promontory itself bears traces of defensive walls that once formed a rectangular enclosure measuring 15 metres east to west and 10 metres north to south. This fortified area may be the 'Old castle' marked on early Ordnance Survey maps, though the relationship between all these features remains unclear.
The clifftop settlement extends well beyond the main fortification. Two rectangular stone structures, built precariously along the cliff edge and now partially collapsed into the sea, sit just east of the main defensive wall. The larger measures 7 by 3 metres with a probable entrance to the southeast, whilst its neighbour spans 5 by 2 to 3 metres. Both structures suggest domestic or agricultural use, though their exact purpose remains a mystery.
Further defensive or boundary features dot the landscape in the form of stone arcs cutting off V-shaped projections of land both north and south of the main promontory. The southern arc, spanning 20 metres with a slight fosse outside it, encloses a particularly large area. Meanwhile, a network of old field walls, some only recently exposed by turf cutting, creates nested rectangular enclosures across the site. The larger enclosure measures approximately 100 metres north to south and 110 metres east to west, with a smaller 50 by 55 metre enclosure contained within it. These overlapping boundaries, defensive works, and structures paint a picture of a site used and reused over many generations, though without excavation it's impossible to determine which features are contemporary and which represent different phases of occupation.