The Western Stone Forts Project

The Western Stone Forts Project was initiated to study a distinctive group of large stone forts located along the western seaboard of Ireland. The majority of these forts are concentrated on the Aran Islands County Galway, in the Burren Co. Clare and on the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas Co. Kerry. Excavations associated with the project were…

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Clay mould of axehead no. 2 from Dun Aonghasa, possible valve (b), find no. 853.

Creator: The Discovery Programme

Identifier: WSFP_V03_FIG_0853

Type: Image

Format: L.34mm; W.30mm; T.15mm.

Part of neck and body, with portion of one contact face. A horizontal groove crosses the neck; this is now abraded and may originally have consisted of a number of grooves and ridges. If this was the case then this is likely to have been part of the opposite valve for 915; if the original decoration consisted of a single groove then this valve probably belongs to a third decorated axehead. The contact face is broad; and irregular indentation occurs but is too small to be a loop. The fragment has three layers, a thin outer wrap, an inner wad that is compact but coarser than usual, and a fine surface layer. The same layering is evidence on piece 776, but the surface of 853 is better preserved

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