Hut site, Twomilestone, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Settlement Sites

Hut site, Twomilestone, Co. Donegal

On the south-facing slope of Twomilestone ridge in County Donegal, just north of where Twomilestone meets Tullymore townland, lies the remnants of what appears to be an ancient hut site.

First documented by Davies in 1942, who rather prosaically labelled it 'hut a', this modest structure reveals itself as a roughly rectangular depression in the landscape. The original survey described walls that were partially reinforced with upright stone slabs, creating an internal living space of approximately 3 metres by 2.5 metres; about the size of a small modern garden shed.

When archaeologists revisited the site in 2015, they found the outline still visible, marked by low, moss-covered stones protruding 20 to 40 centimetres above ground level. The hut doesn't stand alone but forms part of a larger agricultural landscape. It's built into the northwest side of a semi-circular field plot measuring roughly 14 metres east to west and 10 metres north to south, though much of this is now overgrown with scrub. The curved edge of this small enclosure is defined by a tumbled, moss-covered field wall, whilst its straight southern boundary follows the current townland division between Twomilestone and Tullymore.

These field boundaries are part of an extensive relict field system that stretches across the ridge, with another ruined wall snaking north and northwest from the hut site itself. Such field systems offer valuable insights into how people organised and worked the land in past centuries, turning what might seem like random stone walls into a readable record of agricultural history. The entire complex serves as a quiet reminder of the families who once farmed these slopes, their small hut providing basic shelter whilst they tended their livestock and crops on this exposed hillside.

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Pete F
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