A promontory fort is a fortification located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed.
The oldest known promontory fort is Amnya I in Siberia which was established as a fortified site in the late 7th millennium BC.
Ireland
Only a few Irish promontory forts have been excavated and most date to the
Iron Age, though some, like
Dunbeg Fort (
County Kerry) might have originated in the
Bronze Age. Others, like
Dalkey Island (
County Dublin) contain imported Eastern Mediterranean pottery and have been reoccupied and changed in the early
medieval period. Some, like
Doonmore (near Dingle, County Kerry) are associated with the Middle Ages. Dunbeg contains an early medieval
stone hut (clochán).
Isle of Man
On the Isle of Man, promontory forts are found particularly on the rocky slate
headlands of the south. Four out of more than twenty have been excavated and several, especially in Santon, can be visited using the Raad ny Foillan coastal footpath. All have a rampart on their vulnerable landward side, and excavations at Cronk ny Merriu have shown that access to the fort was via a strongly built gate.
The Norsemen who arrived in Mann in the eighth and ninth centuries AD sometimes re-used these Iron Age promontory forts, often obliterating the old domestic quarters with their characteristic rectangular houses; the fine example at Cronk ny Merriu has been used as the basis of the reconstruction in the House of Manannan museum in Peel.
Devon and Cornwall
Cornish promontory forts can be found all along the coast of
Penwith.
Maen Castle, near to Land's End is one of the oldest, having been dated to around 500 BC. They are also found in other districts, e.g.
The Rumps near Padstow and
Dodman Point on the southern Cornish coast as well as
Rame Head close to Plymouth. In Devon,
Burgh Island and
Bolt Tail are located on the south coast and
Embury Beacon and Hillsborough on the north coast.
The famous site at
Tintagel may be a rare example of promontory fort whose occupation continued into the post Roman and from there into later periods.
Brittany
Caesar's
Commentarii de bello Gallico describes the Veneti in southern
Armorica – a powerful sea-faring people allied with the southern British during the war of 56 BC – as living in clifftop
oppidum. Their capital was Darioritum, on the Gulf of Morbihan, now modern
Vannes/Gwened.
[Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico ] The Veneti had close trade ties with southwestern Britain. When they were attacked by the Romans in
Brittany,
Julius Caesar reports that Cornwall sent them military aid.
Channel Islands
There are a few examples of promontory forts on the Island of Jersey, which includes
Le Pinacle, Le Câtel de Rozel, and Le Câtel de Lecq. All of these were located on headlands on the north and north-east of the Island, given the strong natural defences that exist on those parts of the Island. Remains of an Iron Age fort were located on the site of
Mont Orgueil Castle to the east of the island as well as materials from the
Neolithic and
Bronze Age.
See also
-
, many of which were situated on peninsulas or promontories
External links
