A promontory fort is a defensive structure 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. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age. They are mainly found in Ireland, Brittany, the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man, Devon, the Channel Islands and Cornwall. [1]
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 corbelled stone hut (clochán).
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 Scandinavians 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.
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 [2] 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. [3]
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 oppida. Their capital was Darioritum, on the Gulf of Morbihan, now modern Vannes/Gwened. [4] The Veneti had close trade ties with southwestern Britain.[ clarification needed ] When they were attacked by the Romans in Brittany, Julius Caesar reports that Cornwall sent them military aid.
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.
In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast.
The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards into French Hainault. During their first century BC Roman military campaign, Julius Caesar's contacts among the Remi stated that the Nervii were the most warlike of the Belgae. In times of war, they were known to trek long distances to take part in battles. Being one of the northerly Belgic tribes, with the Menapii to the west, and the Eburones to their east, they were considered by Caesar to be relatively uncorrupted by civilization. According to Tacitus they claimed Germanic descent. According to Strabo they were of Germanic origin.
Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales and in Cornwall, where they are called rounds. Ringforts come in many sizes and may be made of stone or earth. Earthen ringforts would have been marked by a circular rampart, often with a stakewall. Both stone and earthen ringforts would generally have had at least one building inside.
Pentire Head is a headland and peninsula on the Atlantic coast in North Cornwall, England, and is about one mile square. The headland projects north-west with Pentire Point at its north-west corner and The Rumps promontory at its north-east corner.
The Venetī were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Armorica, in the northern part of the Brittany Peninsula, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Carnewas and Bedruthan Steps is a stretch of coastline located on the north Cornish coast between Padstow and Newquay, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is within the parish of St Eval and is part-owned by the National Trust. The trust maintains a shop and café, and the cliff–top views of rocks stretching into the distance along Bedruthan beach make the area a popular attraction for tourists and painters. The property affords walks along the coast path and the steep steps at Bedruthan allow access to a series of rocky beaches at low tide. Signs at the top of the steps down to the beaches warn visitors not to risk swimming in these waters due to heavy rips, fast tides, and submerged rocks.
Close to Port Grenaugh, Cronk ny Merriu is one of the remains of promontory forts in the Isle of Man. Cronk ny Merriu was previously considered by historians to be a prehistoric burial place due to its large grass-covered bank and name, literally translating to "Hill of the Dead". The bank and ditch created a defensive promontory fort at Cronk ny Merriu. Later, a rectangular building of Norse style and layout stood here, part of a system of coastal lookout posts used to protect the coastline and to police beach markets. Excavations of Cronk ny Merriu show that there was very little domestic activity, and that the Norse building likely didn't have permanent residency. It's suggested that the longhouse was primarily a building for those at nearby forts to shelter from harsh weather, rather than a place of defence itself. Although no scientific dating has been done, due to the similarities with fortified headlands throughout the Anglo-Celtic isles, archeologists strongly believe that this site dates back to the Celtic Iron Age.
The Rumps is a twin-headland promontory at the north-east corner of Pentire Head in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
In the course of his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice: in 55 and 54 BC. On the first occasion, Caesar took with him only two legions, and achieved little beyond a landing on the coast of Kent. The second invasion consisted of 800 ships, five legions and 2,000 cavalry. The force was so imposing that the Celtic Britons did not contest Caesar's landing, waiting instead until he began to move inland. Caesar eventually penetrated into Middlesex and crossed the Thames, forcing the British warlord Cassivellaunus to pay tribute to Rome and setting up Mandubracius of the Trinovantes as a client king. The Romans then returned to Gaul without conquering any territory.
Treryn Dinas is a headland near Treen, on the Penwith peninsula between Penberth Cove and Porthcurno in Cornwall, England.
The Osismii, Ossismii, or Ostimii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western part of the Armorican Peninsula during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The prehistory of Ireland included a protohistorical period, when the literate cultures of Greece and Rome began to take notice of it, and a further proto-literate period of ogham epigraphy, before the early historical period began in the 5th century. Attempts have been made to reconstruct the political developments of this period by reference to early medieval Irish genealogical texts.
Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic British Isles, with a few also dating to later Bronze Age Britain, British hillforts were primarily constructed during the British Iron Age. Some of these were apparently abandoned in the southern areas that were a part of Roman Britain, although at the same time, those areas of northern Britain that remained free from Roman occupation saw an increase in their construction. Some hillforts were reused in the Early Middle Ages, and in some rarer cases, into the Later Medieval period as well. By the early modern period, these had essentially all been abandoned, with many being excavated by archaeologists in the nineteenth century onward.
Maen Castle is an Iron Age promontory fort or 'cliff castle' close to Land's End in Cornwall. It is one of only two fortified sites in Cornwall where Early Iron Age pottery has been found. Excavations took place in 1939 and 1948-9 and about 300 sherds were unearthed.
Kelsey Head is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and headland in north Cornwall, England, UK, noted for its biological interest. The site contains an Iron Age hill fort.
Ictis, or Iktin, is or was an island described as a tin trading centre in the Bibliotheca historica of the Sicilian-Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, writing in the first century BC.
Cornish promontory forts, commonly known in Cornwall as cliff castles, are coastal equivalents of the hill forts and Cornish "rounds" found on Cornish hilltops and slopes. Similar coastal forts are found on the north–west European seaboard, in Normandy, Brittany and around the coastlines of the British Isles, especially in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Many are known in southwest England, particularly in Cornwall and its neighbouring county, Devon. Two have been identified immediately west of Cornwall, in the Isles of Scilly.
Trevelgue Head, also known as Porth Island, is a headland north-east of Newquay, Cornwall, England, next to Porth at the eastern end of Newquay Bay.
Black Head is a headland at the western end of St Austell Bay, in Cornwall, England. It is owned by the National Trust.
50.574°N 4.743°W
