Dún Formna

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The dun with the castle just visible in the background
O'Brien's Castle

Dún Formna (also known as the Great Fort ) is a restored stone fort in the north of the Aran island of Inisheer in County Galway in Ireland .

The approximately oval ring fort surrounded by a simple wall is located near the highest point (Irish formna ) of a terraced hill above the island's beach and is a national monument. It is oriented in a north-south direction, measures about 52 × 41 m and has its entrance in the northeast. The massive dry stone wall follows the geomorphology of the landscape. A small rectangular tower ruin belongs to the medieval Furmina or O'Brien's Castle built inside , which was taken over by the O'Flaherty clan in 1582 and destroyed by Cromwell's troops about 100 years later .

The exact date of construction of the Dúns is unknown, but it probably dates back to the Iron Age . It is one of seven stone forts in the Aran Islands.

literature

  • Paul Gosling: Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Volume 1: West Galway 1993, ISBN 0-7076-0322-6
  • Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .

Web links

Coordinates: 53 ° 3 '44 "  N , 9 ° 31' 9.2"  W.