Dunbeg Fort
| Dunbeg Fort | |
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| Native name An Dún Beag | |
Dunbeg Fort
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| Location | Fahan, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°06′12″N 10°24′31″W / 52.103415°N 10.408551°WCoordinates: 52°06′12″N 10°24′31″W / 52.103415°N 10.408551°W |
| Built | Iron Age |
| Architectural style(s) | Promontory fort |
| Reference no. | 177 |
 Location of Dunbeg Fort in Ireland
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Dunbeg Fort (Irish: An Dún Beag) is a promontory fort built in the Iron Age near the modern village of Ventry in County Kerry, Ireland.
Dunbeg Fort is located on a rocky promontory just south of Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula, looking over Dingle Bay to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The cliffs have eroded since it was built, and much of the fort has been lost to the sea. The fort's wall cut off access to the triangular promontory, which was later occupied by a single large "beehive" hut. Near to the fort there is a group of clocháns, small stone structures also known as beehive huts that seem to have been built around 1000 BC.
A visitor center at the site includes audiovisual displays, an information and craft room and a restaurant and café.
In January 2014 the fort was closed when much of the western wall of the fort fell into the sea due to storm damage. The Office of Public Works and National Monuments Service sent personnel to investigate damage to the site.
George Victor Du Noyer described the fort as it was when he visited in 1858. The fort divided the point of a headland from the main shore with a dry stone wall between 15 to 25 feet (4.6 to 7.6 m) in width and about 200 feet (61 m) long from one side of the headland to the other. A passage near the midpoint leads through the wall, which was then 3.5 feet (1.1 m) high, 2 feet (0.61 m) wide at the top and 3 feet (0.91 m) wide at the base. The lintel is 7 feet (2.1 m) long. The passage widens to 8 feet (2.4 m) inside the fort, with an arched ceiling.
In front of the defensive wall there are four parallel ditches separated by three clay and gravel mounds. A pathway leads through this defence to the entrance of the fort. It seems that originally the path ran through a stone passage with a flagged roof as it passed through each mound. Possibly the earth ramparts were built first, then the rock wall added later to strengthen the defences. The wall itself was at first 8 to 11 feet (2.4 to 3.4 m) thick, with the landward face later built out to as much as 22 feet (6.7 m) near the entrance.
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