Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Internal diam. 26.9m N-S, 25m E-W
Situated on low-lying, level ground on the S side of Tralee Bay, this rath is enclosed by an earthen bank, now much eroded and gapped. In the interior are traces of a circular hut and a souterrain, and 2 possible hut sites are visible outside the enclosing bank. Where best preserved the bank reaches a maximum height of 1.1m and is c. 2.5m wide. The S facing entrance is 1m wide and each side is lined by a single course of stones. A spread of stones outside the WNW sector is raised c. 0.4 to .7m above the external ground level and contains traces of 2 possible hut sites. The northernmost is represented by a rectangular hollow, defined to E and W by low stones. It measures c. 5m NW-SE and 3m NE-SW. To SW of this a crescent-shaped, stony bank, .4 to .6m high, may have formed part of a 2nd hut.
In the interior, the outline of a probably circular hut, c. 4m in internal diameter, can be traced a little SW of centre. The NE section of the wall appears to be marked by low heaps of stones and the SW section by an arc of walling, .25m high and .75m wide, with the wall face traceable along the exterior only.
A souterrain in the N sector of the interior is now marked only by a slight hollow and by a couple of large slabs which are exposed on the surface. However, the landowner described a passage leading to a cruciform ending. A blocked-up aperture in the W bank of the ringfort is probably related to the souterrain. A bullaun stone has also been recorded at the site (O'Connell 1939, 16-7; KAS).

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 388. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 6 August 2013