Enclosure, Cnoc Fola, Co. Donegal
Co. Donegal |
Enclosures
On a dramatic promontory near Bloody Foreland in County Donegal, south of Rinardalliff point, lies a complex of archaeological features that speak to centuries of human activity on this windswept coast.
The most prominent feature is a substantial defensive fosse, measuring roughly 12 metres wide and 3 metres deep, which cuts across the neck of the promontory to separate it from the mainland. Behind this impressive ditch stands the remains of a wall built from large boulders, whilst on the promontory itself, traces of defensive walls can still be seen forming what appears to have been 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 time and the elements have reduced it to foundation stones and scattered remains.
The site extends well beyond this central fortification, with several stone structures clinging to the cliff edges. Two rectangular buildings, their seaward walls partially collapsed into the Atlantic, sit just east of the main defensive wall; the larger measures 7 by 3 metres, the smaller 5 by 2 to 3 metres. Both structures show signs of entrances and represent either dwellings or storage buildings associated with the main enclosure. Further along the clifftops, two V-shaped projections of land have been cut off by curved stone walls, creating additional defended spaces; these arcs of stones, one 15 metres long and another 20 metres, effectively turned natural peninsulas into small, secure areas, with the southern example even featuring a shallow fosse outside its stone barrier.
Perhaps most intriguing are the extensive field walls that create a series of nested enclosures across the headland. One system of old stone walls, some only recently exposed by turf cutting, forms a rough rectangle measuring approximately 100 by 110 metres, with two sides defined by walls and two by the cliff edge. Within this larger boundary sits a smaller enclosure of about 50 by 55 metres, its walls running from near the stone structures to curve gracefully towards the sea. These field systems, combined with the defensive works and buildings, suggest this wasn't merely a fort but a working settlement where agriculture and defence went hand in hand. The entire complex, now surrounded by cut-away bog and regenerated land, offers a remarkable glimpse into how past communities adapted to and fortified this exposed Atlantic coastline.