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Lurigethan is a multivallate promontory fort occupying a naturally defensible headland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The monument exploits the dramatic coastal topography of the Moyle area, where Palaeogene mafic lavas and tuffs form the underlying bedrock. The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Division reference 1506.
The fort's defences consist of multiple concentric banks and ditches constructed across the neck of the promontory, leveraging the steep cliffs which form natural barriers on the seaward sides. This multivallate design represents a sophisticated approach to Iron Age or Bronze Age fortification, allowing defenders to control access to the headland whilst the surrounding geology provided formidable additional protection. The volcanic bedrock underlying the site would have presented significant challenges to any builder, shaping both the fort's layout and its constructional techniques.
Lurigethan exemplifies the strategic use of promontories in prehistoric fortification across Ulster. Such sites typically commanded views of coastal routes and adjacent waters, serving functions both defensive and ceremonial. The monument preserves evidence of settlement patterns and territorial organisation in north Antrim during the later prehistoric period, representing a crucial phase in the region's archaeological heritage.
Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 1506. View the official record →
Lurigethan is a multivallate promontory fort occupying a naturally defensible headland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 1506.
Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a promontory fort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort 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 1506.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Red bay castle. motte, two baileys and tower-house, curtain wall & possible site of promontory fort (1.6 km), Old graveyard, killacur, killyhurragh. children burial ground/killeen with cross-carved stone (2.1 km), Court mcmartin. castle (2.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Lurigethan. multivallate promontory fort stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.