Dún Aonghasa
Prehistoric stone fort on the Atlantic cliffs of Inis Mór, reached by a footpath from the visitor centre.
Dún Aonghasa stands on a cliff about 87 metres above the Atlantic on Inis Mór, the largest of the Aran Islands. Semicircular walls of drystone limestone enclose a series of terraces against the cliff edge, and outside them lies a broad band of chevaux de frise, upright stones set closely together to obstruct approach. Excavations in the 1990s showed occupation beginning in the Late Bronze Age around 1100 BC, with substantial rebuilding during the Iron Age.
The fort's purpose is debated: the scale of the enclosure, the ceremonial platform at the cliff edge and evidence of metalworking suggest a high-status or ritual centre rather than a purely defensive one. Parts of the walls were restored in the 1880s under the Board of Works. A visitor centre at Cill Mhuirbhigh interprets the site and the wider archaeology of the islands, and the path to the fort climbs across bare karst limestone.
Highlights
- Drystone ramparts set on the edge of an 87-metre Atlantic cliff
- Chevaux de frise of thousands of upright defensive stones
- Occupation traced back to about 1100 BC by excavation
- Visitor centre at Cill Mhuirbhigh with island archaeology displays
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
![[Golestan, Le Salon et Fete de l'equinode, Teheran, Iran (le Pavillion du Trone)]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/-Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg/500px--Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg)
![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
