Castle - motte

The National Monuments Service's description

A large mound (max. diam. c. 29m at base, c. 11m at top, max. H 8.5m) surrounded by a large, wide, U-shaped fosse (Wth 3-7m, D c. 1.5m) with a large external bank at S, E and W (Wth c. 5m at W, H from base of fosse 2.5m, from ground level at W c. 1m). A bank at the N is modern and is partially built in the fosse. There are slight traces of a small earthen bank around the perimeter of the top of the mound. The motte is sited on a small ridge with its steepest side to the N. At the SE side the ridge may have been scarped to form a bailey. There is a large stone-lined causeway at the E but this is probably of fairly recent origin. (Wright 1758, bk I, pl. XII; Deane 1922, 99)

The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 17 July 2007

References

Wright, T. 1748 Louthiana: or an introduction to the antiquities of Ireland. London. Thomas Payne.

Deane, J. (ed.) 1922 Extracts from Isaac Butler's Journal. County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society Journal, vol. 5, 2, 93-108.