Site Report:  Aran Islands (pre-Christian sites)

Pre-Christian archaeological sites on the Aran Islands are largely a mystery, as there is little or no historical documentation from Ireland before the coming of Christianity.  Similar to sites in the Burren, most of the relevant remains found on the islands is in the form of stone features such as walls, large forts and various other land features.  Since stone is the primary resource for investigation, geological implications can provide helpful information, as D. Michael Williams used in his study on Aran stone forts in 2002-3.

Dun Aonghasa aerial photograph

http://www.galway.net/galwayguide/visit/aran/about/

Dun Eoghanachta

John Waddell 1994.  The archaeology of the Aran Islands.  In The Book of Aran.  Kinvara: Tir Eolas.  Page 93

Photos of Dun Duchathair
Jones, Carleton 2004.  The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the Archaeology.  The Collins Press, Cork.  Page 180.

Dun Aonghasa

Dun Aonghasa is the most prominent and widely-known stone fort on Inis Mor of the Aran Islands.  Carleton Jones suggests in his book The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the archaeology, that what is currently present on this site is actual “Early medieval remodeling of the earlier, Bronze Age hillfort” (Jones 2004:172).  The fort at Dun Aonghasa consists of an Inner Fort, outer Defenses and a “chevaux de frise”.  The walls of the inner fort are roughly 4m high and as thick as 5m in some places.  The rampart forms a U-shape up against the edge of the cliffs where the land meets the water and encloses an area roughly 47m in diameter (Waddell 1994:86).  The second and third walls, which encircle the inner fort, are not as high or thick as the first and the fourth wall stands as much as 200 meters from the other outer defenses and may follow an original Bronze Age wall (Jones 2004:172).  “Chevaux de fries” is a term that refers to “upright stones placed in the ground outside a fort to hinder attackers” (Waddell 1994:89).

                This massive site was excavated by The Discovery Programme in the 1990s, under the direction of Claire Cotter.  Finds from the study includes evidence that habitation of Dun Aonghasa was mostly prior to the possible reconstructions from the Early Medieval period (Jones 2004:172).  The excavations have also shown that the site was occupied for the first time around 800 BC (late Bronze Age) and that it may have been the home to specialized craftspeople (Waddell 1994:89).  Bronze Age shards of pottery and molds for bronze weaponry have been recovered through the excavations (Waddell 1994:90).  A few Early Medieval artifacts were also found, including a small bone comb, though it does not seem likely that Dun Aonghasa was inhabited at that time (Jones 2004:172).

Dun Eoghanachta

This circular stone fort has a rather complete remaining structure.  The main rampart, similar to the other stone forts on the islands, is constructed of limestone and forms an outer rampart that is “5m high and over 4m thick” and rings an area that has a “diameter of about 27m” (Waddell 1994:93).  Parts of the fort were reconstructed in the 1880s and it is likely that some of the stairs present along the rampart were not of original construction (Waddell 1994:93).  Also, on the interior of the main wall, there is evidence of three buildings, though more may yet be discovered (Jones 2004:177).

                Dun Eoghanachta was excavated in 1995 under the direction of Claire Cotter, through The Discovery Programme.  While the study was not formally published, her excavation descriptions provide useful information regarding the structure and context of the site.  Cotter says her excavations were prompted by architectural similarities between Dun Eoghanachta and Dun Aonghasa.  In the actual cuttings, deposits were found that revealed remains of hearths, animal and shell remains, and some iron objects.  The site summary indicates that not enough work has been done on Dun Eoghanachta to produce and real results, but further investigations might actually date the construction to much later in the first millennium AD.

Dun Duchathair

Situated on the cliffs of the Atlantic coast of Inis Mor is another notable stone fort that dates to the same period as the two others previously described.  Dun Duchathair is sometimes called “the black fort”, in reference to the darker limestone found in this area (Jones 2004:180).  This fort is in a particularly interesting configuration.  A stone rampart, “6m high and 5m thick” stretches from edge to edge on a small peninsula of land, serves to fence off the entire point (Waddell 1994:91).  All other sides of the interior are blocked off by the cliff edge itself and the surrounding waves.  The fort itself consists of only one curved line of wall.  Another interesting feature of Dun Duchathair is the “chevaux de fris” that was constructed on the land side of the fort, which consists of large blockade stones intended as defense from any attacks (Jones 2004:180).  Dun Duchathair and Dun Aonghasa are the only two forts on the Aran Islands that have this defensive feature (Jones 2004:180).  A third feature that stands out on the Dun Duchathair site is the small stone house-structures on the interior of the fort.

                Williams investigated Dun Duchathair in a similar light to Dun Aonghasa, suggesting that the single-line structure is only the remnants of a much larger, possibly ring-shaped fort.  He cites early site surveys by O’Donovan in 1839 who pointed out that “the cliff has fallen in and the storms have reduced the part remaining to a shapeless ruin”.  Here again, his argument is that natural erosion and geological changes give the fort its current shape and that the archaeological studies of the site ought to look at it in such a way.

The research on the pre-Christian stone forts of the Aran Islands has been limited and difficult.  Little or no concrete evidence has been produced to form indications about the habitation and use of the sites in their original form.  Perhaps this is why the questions seem to outnumber the answers for archaeologists who have investigated the sites.  Broader site comparisons and geological implications may someday form a stronger picture of the late Bronze Age on the Aran Islands, though more work is necessary.  Comparing the various sites to one another may also produce more knowledge, by piecing the bits from each site together collectively.

Excavation sketch of Dun Aonghasa
Jones, Carleton 2004.  The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the Archaeology.  The Collins Press, Cork.  Page 167.

Jones, Carleton 2004.  The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the Archaeology.  The Collins Press, Cork.  Page 177.

Bibliography:

Jones, Carleton 2004.  The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the Archaeology.  The Collins Press, Cork. 

Williams, Michael D. 2004.  Short Contribution: Marine Erosion and Archaeological Landscapes: A Case Study of Sone Forts at Cliff-top locations in the Aran Islands, Ireland.  In Geoarchaeology: an internation journal, Volume 19, No .  Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

http://www.excavations.ie/Pages/Details.php?Year=&County=Galway&id=2352