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Portadoona Fort

Promontory fort, coastal

What is recorded here

Portadoona Fort projects a shallow irregular promontory into the Atlantic, guarded by a stone-faced bank and a twelve-foot rock-cut fosse. O'Kelly excavated the interior in 1952 and found only two hearth sites and a single post-hole, suggesting the defences mattered more than daily living. The seaward edges now surrender to erosion, leaving a thin place where the sea keeps taking back what the stones once held.
Irregular shallow promontory (27m NW-SE; 32m NE-SW) projecting E into Atlantic. Excavated by O'Kelly (1952, 26-9) but few signs of occupation in interior; two hearth sites and a single post-hole found. Defenses sectioned: stone-faced bank (H c. 4ft 9in) terraced on the inside; fosse (D 12 ft) rock-cut at base. Outer bank and terracing noted by Westropp (1914-15, 286), was found to be modern. Promontory now covered by rough grazing; both seaward edges of defences suffering from erosion. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009
Portadoona Fort, Scobaun is a coastal promontory fort with early-medieval origins, likely dating to the 6th–10th centuries AD. Though primarily a defensive structure, it has no strong local folklore attached, though such sites were often later associated with fairy legends in Irish tradition.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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