Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

At the N end of a narrow valley of pastureland between Gleninagh ‘Mountain’ and Cappanawalla Hill. A path rising to the N gives access over saddle between the two hills to the coast and improved pastureland runs S down the valley from the site. Listed as ‘Enclosure’ in the SMR (1992) and the RMP (1996). Hachured on the 1842 and 1915 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps and on Robinson’s map (1977). A large subcircular enclosure (int. dims. 66m N–S; 62m E–W) defined by a tumbled and partly grass-covered stone spread, traceable for its full course, with surviving inner and outer facing-stones at E (wall Wth 2.5m). A well-preserved stone-lined and outwardly splaying entrance (Wth on outer face 2.7m; Wth on inner face 2.1m) survives at SSE. A later field wall overlies the cashel wall from S to NNW. Westropp (1915, 62) noted that this ‘ring-wall’ was of unusually large size with battered walls (H 6-7ft [1.8-2.1m]) constructed of large well-fitted blocks.
A midden (CL002-030003-) and the ruins of two buildings (CL002-030004- and CL002-030005-) are located S of the centre in the interior. A field system (CL002-030001-) of at least three phases (Gosling 1991, 88) crosses the interior and extends N, S, E and W. The field systems extend as far as but not visibly into the improved strip fields to the S, suggesting that there their visible traces have been removed. Another enclosure (CL002-075001-) and field system (CL002-075002-) are located c. 450m WSW, on the opposite side of the valley. These are also only visible outside the strip fields reinforcing the probability that such remains extended across the valley floor. The strip fields were already in existence in 1970, when the Cambridge aerial photos were taken (CUCAP BDM048–050 and 057).

Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 9 December 2020

References

Gosling, P. 1991 The Burren in Early Historic times. In J. W. O’Connell and A. Korff (eds.) The Book of the Burren, 77–94. Tír Eolas: Kinvara.

Coffey T. 1985 Field notes. The Other Clare 9, 27-31.

Westropp, T.J. 1915 Prehistoric remains (forts and dolmens) in Burren and its south western border, Co. Clare. Part 12: North Western Part. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 5, 45-62, 249-74.