Heritage experts today condemned the destruction of part of a 3,000-year-old Celtic fort in Co Kerry.

The 700 metres of earthen works that surrounded the ancient Dun Mor Fort on the Dingle Peninsula were levelled at the weekend by an excavating machine. An entrance and a standing stone with an ogham (Celtic writing) inscription were also removed.

Heritage Ireland spokeswoman Isobel Smyth said it was a dreadful act.

“This is a very important site and we want to see an investigation carried out,” she said.

The 80 acre Dun More fort overlooks the Blasket Islands and the Skelligs. The Ogham stone which was removed contained an inscription to Dhuibne, a deity of the Corca Dhuibne tribe which lived in the area from around 1,000 BC to 600 AD.

Gardaí visited the site yesterday and have begun an inquiry into the incident.

“There is no preservation order but it is listed as a National Monument and should not have been interfered with,” said a spokesman.

The destruction was uncovered at the weekend by local walking tour guide and amateur archaeologist Con Moriarty.

“Someone has to be held responsible for this outrageous behaviour. People are lamenting the loss of historic sites and artefacts in wartime Iraq but here it is happening in peace time Ireland,” he said.

It is understood the man responsible is from the local area. The Dingle Peninsula, which is part of the famous Ring of Kerry route, contains nearly 40 national monuments and around 2,000 other archaeological sites.

Dun Mor was one of the biggest settlements of its kind in Europe, according to Galway-based archaeologist Michael Gibbons.

“The average ring fort was around 30 metres in diameter. This was 500-600 metres. This is vandalism on an unbelievable scale,” he said.

According to a Heritage Council survey, around 10% of all national monuments have been lost in the last 10 years. The vast majority of this destruction is carried out by farmers who are reclaiming land. Mr Gibbons said that changes in Irish farming had accelerated the process.

“As farm sizes increase and smaller farms decline, farmers are gobbling up land they have no connection with. We are losing a lot of monuments, especially in Munster,” he said.

Under the new National Monuments Bill being prepared by Environment Minister Martin Cullen, the fines for destruction of a national monuments will increase from a maximum of €62,000 to €10m.

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that's really sad... I'm practicaly speachless about this whole thing ...

If farms are taking over the land that these monuments then maybe they should be made to look after them. I think that would stop them from destroying them, or have the government give them a grant or something to make sure that they are looked after.

I'm stunned...........
I hope heads roll..
How could they do that ??
-money and greed really screw things up....

How can the destroy something like that. It deserves to be preserved and respected so that we never forget our past. Just because its old doesn`t mean it isn`t worthwhile to keep around.