Hut site, Tullydush Lower, Co. Donegal
On the south-southwest facing slope of Bawnloge Hill in Tullydush Lower, County Donegal, lies a fascinating collection of ancient dwellings tucked into the mountainous pasture.
Hut site, Tullydush Lower, Co. Donegal
The main hut site consists of a sub-rectangular area measuring roughly 4 metres from north-northeast to south-southwest and 3 metres from west-northwest to east-southeast. What remains today is defined by a low bank of earth and stone, with walls ranging from 0.7 to 1 metre thick, along with a series of low contiguous stones. Curiously, there’s no evidence of any entrance feature, leaving us to wonder how the inhabitants accessed this structure.
This hut wasn’t isolated; it formed part of a larger settlement pattern across the hillside. Just 2 metres to the south-southeast sits another hut site, whilst a third can be found 110 metres to the northwest. Two house sites are positioned 140 metres to the southeast, and intriguingly, a panel of rock art lies 57 metres to the northeast, suggesting this area held significance for its ancient inhabitants beyond mere habitation.
The entire settlement appears to have been organised within an extensive field system, with remnants of field walls visible 14 metres to the north and 15 metres to the east of the main hut. These walls likely enclosed a field that contained at least two of the hut sites, indicating a well-planned agricultural landscape. This arrangement of dwellings, field boundaries, and rock art offers a glimpse into how Bronze Age or Iron Age communities organised their living spaces in these upland areas, making the most of the terrain whilst maintaining connections between different structures across the hillside.





