Haughey's Fort

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Haughey's Fort is a hill fort in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 2¼ miles (3.6 km) west of the city of Armagh. It is named after the farmer who owned the land it is situated on in the later 19th century. The large hilltop enclosure that is Haughey’s Fort is a Scheduled Historic Monument in the townland of Tray, in Armagh City and District Council area, at grid ref: H8351 4529.^[1]

It consists of an oval enclosure, 350 metres (1,150 ft) across at its widest point, surrounded by two concentric ditches. Inside the enclosure another ditch encloses an area 150 metres (490 ft) in diameter. Archaeological excavation shows that it was occupied in the late Bronze Age, ca. 1100 to 900 BC, after which it was abandoned, although some artifacts discovered were of Iron Age date, suggesting that it was later reoccupied. It was contemporary with the nearby artificial pool known as the King's Stables, but was abandoned before Navan Fort, 0.6 miles (1 km) to the east, was occupied.

[edit] References

• Chris Lynn, Navan Fort: Archaeology and Myth, Wordwell Books, 2003
• J. P. Mallory, "The Other Twin: Haughey's Fort", Ulidia, December Publications, 1994