Hillfort in Carnagarve

On the SE side of the Inishowen peninsula, on a terrace/hill with a steep fall of ground on the E and S sides, located at the SE edge of heather-covered, boggy uplands. To W ground rises gradually to higher slopes and peaks. To E there are panoramic views along the length of Lough Foyle, with a strategic sight line across its narrow mouth, as well as views over the fertile lowland pastures which border it. This unusual enclosure is not indicated on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps, but is visible in current aerial views. It was identified and surveyed in 2015 by the Bernician Studies Group (O’Brien and Adams 2016, 16-20). Two roughly concentric banks, set 15-20m apart, curve in a broad arc SW−NNE and appear to represent the NW half of a subcircular or broadly oval enclosure; the SE half of the enclosure cannot be traced at ground level or in aerial views. The banks have a broad, low gently rounded profile and feel firm and compact under foot; they are visible at ground level as bands of thicker, higher heather growth. The inner bank (Wth c. 4m; H 0.3m) describes a shallow arc (cord L c. 70m) which curves SSW−N, ending abruptly at N; it is highest (ext. H 0.8-1m) at SW where it merges with a natural slope. The outer bank (Wth 3.5-4m; H 0.3-0.4m) can be traced in a deeper semicircle (cord L c. 130m) which curves SW−NNE, petering out gradually at NE beyond which it may have been truncated by a modern trackway to E of which is a forestry plantation. At SW both banks disappear into an impenetrable thicket of gorse and brambles which blankets the steep SE−SW side of the hill, and it is unclear to what extent they may survive beneath the overgrowth. In parts the ground immediately outside the banks is soft and wet, suggestive of a fosse, but the evidence is insufficient to confirm this. Both banks are gapped in parts; a gap (Wth 3m) at NW in the in the inner bank, with a corresponding break outer bank, may mark an original entrance. The twin banks cut across the broad W arc of the terrace/hill, with the outer bank coinciding with a rising slope at NW−N and curving downslope across the contour of the hill at NE, and the inner bank encompassing the SW arc of a slightly raised relatively level area on the summit of the hill, with a stretch of exposed rock face (H c. 2m) at the break of slope at it S edge. The unenclosed E−SE arc of the hill is defined by a steeply falling slope. Assuming that the banks did originally follow a full circular or oval circuit around the hill, the inner bank would have enclosed a central space with a maximum dimension of 70-80m, and the outer bank would have enclosed a space with maximum dimension of c. 130 NE−SW by c. 115 NW−SE. One possibility is that the banks never fully enclosed the hill, which is naturally defensive on its E arc due to its steep slope. A roughly circular hollow (max. dim. 5-7m; D 1m) and a number of smaller hollows (D 0.5-0.7m) are located close to the inner face of the inner bank at W. These are engulfed in gorse and difficult to examine. Their significance is uncertain; they might, for instance, be quarry pits. A few meters to E is an oblong water-filled hollow (2.5m E-W; 2m N-S; D 0.3m). (O’Brien and Adams 2016). Attached images: DG022-015----_01.JPG Ranging rod stands at W arc of the outer bank, viewed from NW DG022-015----_02.JPG Ranging rod and red arrows show arc of outer bank, viewed from NW DG022-015----_03.JPG Ranging rod lies on inner bank; yellow arrows indicate outer bank DG022-015----_04.JPG Ranging rod on outer bank at N; mouth of Lough Foyle visible in the distance at Left DG022-015----_05.JPG The steep gorse-covered S-SW slope of the hill, viewed from S Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 3 November 2021