Defended promontory.


The end of Langness peninsula contains the remains of a promontory fort of unique form amongst other Manx forts such as Cronk ny Merriu, Cass ny Hawin and Close ny Chollagh.


Enclosures and earthworks can be seen on a series of small islets at the south-western tip of the peninsula. The first of these enclosures stands on the promontory attached to the peninsula. Two sea inlets form a natural ditch, and beyond these a defensive bank stands to a height of 1m. At the far end of this promontory the arrangement is repeated, with another natural ditch and a bank defending the landward side of the first islet. The second islet shows no sign of defence, but the third is protected by another bank. Although not particularly high today, it is quite possible that these banks were once augmented with timber palisades.


There is no evidence for ancient buildings on any of the islets, and the small brick-built structure is associated with mine working in the late 1800s. Copper has been extracted from Langness from probably as early as the Bronze Age, since stone tools, of a type used to break up the ore, have been found throughout the area.