(unofficial anglicised version Dun AengusPlacenames Database of Ireland
/ref>) is the best-known of several prehistoric

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

s on the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland. It lies on , at the edge of a cliff. A popular tourist attraction, Dún Aonghasa is also an important archaeological site.

History

It is not known exactly when was built, though it is now thought that most of the structures date from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. An early Iron Age bird-head

Fibula (brooch) A fibula (, : fibulae ) is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not o ...

was discovered in a wall of the site in 1839. T. F. O'Rahilly surmised in what is known as O'Rahilly's historical model that it was built in the 2nd century BC by the Builg following the Laginian conquest of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. Excavations at the site indicate that the first construction goes back to 1100 BC, when rubble was piled against large upright stones to form the first enclosure. Signs of human habitation and moulds for casting bronze were found and dated towards the end of the Bronze Age in Europe (around 900 BC). Around 500 BC, the triple wall defenses were probably constructed along the fort's western side. Its name, meaning 'Fort of ', may refer to the pre-Christian god of the same name described in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, or the mythical king, . It has thus traditionally been associated with the .

Form and function

The fort consists of a series of four concentric walls of

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

construction, built on a high cliff some one hundred metres above the sea. At the time of its construction sea levels were considerably lower and a recent

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

documentary estimates that originally it was 1000 metres from the sea. Surviving stonework is four metres wide at some points. The original shape was presumably oval or D-shaped but parts of the cliff and fort have since collapsed into the sea. Outside the third ring of walls lies a defensive system of limestone spikes, known as a , planted in upright or slanting outwards positions in fissures of the limestone are still largely well-preserved (cheval de frise can also be found in County Clare at Ballykinvarga). These ruins also feature a huge rectangular stone slab, the function of which is unknown. Impressively large among prehistoric ruins, the outermost wall of Dún Aonghasa encloses an area of approximately 6 hectares (14 acres).

Today

The walls of have been rebuilt to a height of 6m and have wall walks, chambers, and flights of stairs. The restoration is easily distinguished from the original construction by the use of mortar. There is a small museum illustrating the history of the fort and its possible functions. Also in the vicinity is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

tomb and a small heritage park featuring examples of a traditional

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

cottage and a poteen distillery.

Nearby sites

('Black Stone

Ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, 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 ...

"), ('Fort of the '), and are similar prehistoric sites on .Meehan, p. 622. ('Fort of

Conchobar () is an old and famous Irish name, Irish male name meaning "lover of canines". It is the source of the Irish names Conor, Connor (disambiguation), Connor, Connors (disambiguation), Connors, Conner (disambiguation), Conner, O'Connor (surname), O'C ...

') is located on nearby .

Image gallery

Dun Aengus 2017 - Inis Mor, Ireland.jpg Dun Eochla Interior.jpg, Interior of Dún Aonghusa 2, looking down.JPG Inishmore Central.jpg, A view over the

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

landscape on from Dun Aonghasa-cheval de frise.jpg, on the west side of Aran cliffs.jpg, alt=Black and white photograph taken on the cliffs at Dun Aonghasa in the Aran Islands, The cliffs at

References

External links

Short YouTube video of the Dun Aengus cliff face

Dun Aengus website

Dun Aengus page for the Aran Islands website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dun Aonghasa Forts in the Republic of Ireland Hill forts in Ireland Archaeological sites in County Galway Aran Islands National monuments in County Galway Former populated places in Ireland