Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

On an elevated plateau of winter pasture, with slightly higher ground from N to NE, within a large field system (CL010-064001-). Named ‘Knockan Fort’ on the 1842 ed. of the OS 6-inch map and depicted as a hachured subcircular enclosure which almost completely occupies a small rectangular field. It is similarly named on the 1915 ed. but only the rectangular field is shown. A house (CL010-064015-) and souterrain (CL010-064100-) are shown within the E half of its interior. Named ‘Cnocán fort’ on Robinson’s map (1977). Listed as ‘Rectangular enclosure’ in the RMP (1996). Described by Westropp (1896, 363) as an ‘angular enclosure’ defined by ‘a poorly built, slight wall’.

A rectangular cashel (int. dims. 49m NNW-SSE; 47m NE-SW), with rounded corners, roughly built of double-faced walls of irregularly sized stones, some of which form vertical facing. The S wall (H 1.2–1.35m; H 1.35m; T 1m) is best preserved and has original outer wall-facing near the corner with the W wall. However, some of its internal wall-face is of dubious antiquity. The W wall (H 1.2m) is more dilapidated and, likewise, its internal wall-face may not all be original but where the original thickness is discernible it is similar in width to the S wall. The N and E walls are poorly defined and consist of stone spreads (Wth 2m; H 0.6–0.8m) with no clear inner or outer wall-facing. A second possible souterrain (CL010-064080-) is located towards the centre of its interior and the foundations of a hut site (CL010-064101-) were noted in the NE corner. There is a wedge tomb (CL010-064013-) c. 30m to the WSW. (Westropp 1905, 221-2; Bowmer 2019; Comber 2019)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney, Olive Alcock and Ros Ó Maoldúin

Date of upload: 27 September 2021

References

Westropp, T.J. 1896 Prehistoric stone forts of northern Clare, parts I & II. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries 26, 142-58, 362-9.

Westropp, T. J. 1905 Prehistoric remains (Forts and Dolmens) along the borders of Burren, in the county of Clare. Part 1 – The Eastern Border. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 35, 205-29.

Bowmer, T. 2019 Rectilinear drystone cashel and enclosure settlements in the Burren, Co. Clare. The Journal of Irish Archaeology 28, 59–84.

Comber, M. 2019 Square ringforts? A contribution to the identification of ‘ringfort’ types. Medieval Archaeology 63(1), 128–53.

Record of Monuments and Places as established under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, County Clare. Issued by National Monuments and Historic Properties Service 1996. Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.

Robinson, T. 1977 (revised 1999) The Burren: a two-inch map of the uplands of north-west Clare. Map scale 1:31680. Roundstone: Folding Landscapes.