Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Internal diam. 28m N-S, 20.2m E-W
A univallate rath situated in an elevated position on the E slopes of the valley of the Finglas river. A small river flows W about 50m N of the site. The oval interior slopes gently downhill to W and is enclosed by an earthen bank up to 1.8m high externally and 1.3m internally. The latter has been levelled in the SSW sector and a field fence skirts the enclosure here immediately outside the line of the bank. At NE a 4.8m long stretch of the inner face is revetted with drystone walling which stands to a height of 1.1m. A number of small stones visible elsewhere along the bank suggest that the facing may formerly have been more extensive. Six breaks through the E half of the bank are probably secondary. A 4m wide gap at NNW probably marks the original entrance. The former presence of an external fosse is suggested by a slight depression skirting the outer edge of the bank and by the presence of a large number of Yellow Flags (Iris pseudacirus) growing in a 3.5m wide band outside the bank. A 5.5m wide break in the band, outside the entrance at NNW, may indicate the location of a causeway across the fosse. The interior is occupied by a series of cultivation ridges.

The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 376. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 6 August 2013