Enclosure, Mooghaun, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Mooghaun, Co. Clare

Mooghaun in south County Clare is already famous among archaeologists for one extraordinary reason: in 1854, labourers cutting a railway line nearby unearthed the largest hoard of prehistoric gold objects ever found in western Europe, a collection of bracelets, collar pieces, and other Bronze Age goldwork now known as the Great Clare Find.

The hillfort at Mooghaun, a massive multivallate enclosure whose concentric stone walls enclose roughly ten hectares of hilltop, belongs to the same Late Bronze Age landscape, and the two are almost certainly connected. Enclosures of this scale, with multiple lines of ramparts defining and defending a high interior space, are rare in Ireland, and Mooghaun is considered one of the most significant examples on the island.

The site sits above the southern shore of Lough Derg, and the scale of its construction implies a community capable of sustained, organised effort over a long period. The innermost wall alone runs for a considerable distance, and the outer circuits add further layers of definition to the hilltop. Whether the enclosure served primarily as a defended settlement, a place of assembly, a centre of exchange, or some combination of these functions is a question that archaeologists have not fully resolved. What is clear is that the concentration of high-status metalwork recovered from the surrounding area suggests Mooghaun sat at the centre of a wealthy and well-connected Late Bronze Age community, probably during the period broadly between 1200 and 600 BC.

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