Dunbeg Promontory Fort

Dunbeg Promontory Fort

 

 

Location: 14 kms West from Dingle Map

Constructed: Iron Age

Official site

 

Dunbeg Promontory Fort is located in Gaeltacht village, 14 kms West from Dingle in a County Kerry in Ireland. These defensive fortifications were constructed in the Iron Age. The steep coast at the village of Fahan has a rocky edge, this is located directly on the R 559, the "Slea Head Road".

Dunbeg is considered part of the group of beehive huts in nearby Fahan. The once round dun, built of dry stone masonry, has partially fallen victim to erosion. The inner stepped wall is sometimes six meters thick and about three meters high. On both sides of the entrance there are small spaces inside the wall and the access has side holes into which a wooden beam could be inserted to support a door. In the passage is near the ground a so-called "Doghole". The entrance is provided with a lintel that Macalister considered 1898 to be the most noteworthy in Ireland.

Within the dun are the remains of an inside rectangular and outside round house, a form that also have the smaller Clochain in the monastery of Skellig Michael and which is present at Clochán na Carraige on the Aran island of Inishmore. The area behind the barrage is relatively poor.

A 16.5 m long basement covered with large slabs leads from the interior close to the outer wall.

Plants with the same name can be found in Ireland (eg Killard County Clare, Northern Ireland Ballynahinch County Down) and Oban in Scotland.

In January 2018, large parts of the fort were destroyed by a storm followed by landslide. The site has not been accessible since then (as of April 2019).