Hillfort in Oughtmama — Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Oughtmama’s unusual hexagonal hillfort on the ridge between Oughtmama and the Gortaclare valley may have belonged to Neolithic people or Late Bronze Age people, and its broad drystone wall still marks a place large enough to hold whole lives. The broken gaps, narrow eastern ravine and small house foundations suggest entry, residence and repeated use rather than a single ceremonial act. People may have moved through that ravine, lived along the inner wall and watched the valley appear and disappear as they walked the rising centre.

In a commanding location on a high ridge sloping gently to N between Oughtmama and the Gortaclare valley in an area of bare limestone pavement and patchy grazing. The settlement cluster on Turlough Hill lies somewhat higher and c. 600m to SW along the same ridge. A very large and unusual hexagonal enclosure (int. dims. c. 190m N-S; c. 190m E-W) defined by a drystone wall (average Wth 2-2.3m; int. H 0.3m at E to 0.4m at W to 1.1m at N) composed of a mixture of thin flags laid in courses and thin flags set on edge as inner and outer facing with an angular pebble core. The wall is broken by 13 gaps (Wths c. 1.4-1.8m) often defined at the sides by transverse slabs. The gaps occur intermittently and irregularly on all sides. A narrow ravine at E (L 30m; Wth 5m) slopes upwards towards the interior and affords a kind of entranceway into the enclosure. The interior is slightly higher near the centre meaning that as you walk around the perimeter the full site is often not visible. Westropp provided a plan (1905, 226) showing a number of hut sites, mostly along the inner face of the enclosing wall (see CL003-036002- to CL003-036007-). He also noted that the interior was of bare, often loose crag with no traces of foundations (ibid.). Bergh (2015, 32) noted another diminutive circular house foundation close to the inner end of the E depression (CL003-036008-). The enclosure is undated as yet but may be related to either Neolithic causewayed enclosures or Late Bronze Age hillforts (Bergh, Ó Maoldúin and McCarthy 2016, 21). Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 3 March 2020

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