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Ardkeen castle is a motte and bailey fortification located in the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland. The site comprises an earthen motte crowned by a later stone tower-house, representing successive phases of medieval military occupation from the Norman period onwards. The motte itself, characteristic of twelfth-century Anglo-Norman settlement in Ireland, would originally have been surmounted by timber defences, later replaced by the stone structure. The site demonstrates the evolution of fortification design in medieval Ulster, where such hybrid earthwork and masonry castles served both defensive and administrative functions for territorial lords.
Ardkeen castle, castle hill. motte and bailey with later tower-house is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 7282. View the official record →
Ardkeen castle is a motte and bailey fortification located in the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 7282.
Ardkeen castle, castle hill. motte and bailey with later tower-house dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a motte bailey & fortification. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ardkeen castle, castle hill. motte and bailey with later tower-house is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 7282.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Old court. tower (7.1 km), Ballytrustan. medieval church & graveyard (7.5 km), Old castle ward. tower-house (7.5 km).
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Research the area around Ardkeen castle, castle hill. motte and bailey with later tower-house