These coastal promontory forts are among the more dramatic survivals of Irish prehistory, their builders using natural geography in place of elaborate engineering. The result is a form of fortification that can look almost accidental until you understand what you are standing on.

Promontory forts of this type are found all around the Irish coastline, and while many date to the Iron Age, some continued in use or were constructed well into the early medieval period. The defining feature is the earthen or stone rampart, sometimes a single bank and ditch, sometimes a series of them, cutting off the promontory from the mainland. The sea cliffs on either side rendered further walls unnecessary. Reenadisert, tucked into the irregular coastline of west Cork, fits this pattern, though the specific history of this particular site, its date of construction, the people who used it, and what it may have contained within its enclosure, remains to be fully documented.