Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Internal diam. 28.4m N-S, 27m E-W
This subcircular univallate rath is located in an area of undulating pasture W of the Gaddagh river. The fosse, which is preserved around the S perimeter of the site, now serves as a trackway, and a stone-built field wall forms its outer edge. Only a slight depression indicates the existence of the fosse elsewhere. It averages 2.8m wide at SE, above which the bank rises 3.9m in external height and falls 1.75m to the rath's interior. The widely splayed, flat-topped bank is crowned with mature trees and has a basal width of up to 8m. It is revetted with stone facing externally at W. A 2.2m wide gap marks the entrance at NE. A stony mound located close to the inner face of the bank at S may be the remains of a hut site (KE065-086001-). It measures c. 8m square and rises up to .8m high above the level interior of the rath.

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 512. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 29 July 2013