Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In rough, rocky pasture, located on a rise, which provides good views. There is a small stream 8-10m to SW, which curves around the rise, flowing to NW.
This rath is shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as a circular enclosure; by the time of the 1920 edition it had been truncated along its E edge by a N−S road.
It now consisting of a slightly raised, D-shaped area (32.4m N−S; c. 29m E-W to road) defined on the curving side SSE−NNE by a bank/scarp, and on the straight side at E by a NNE−SSW road, which has truncated the E edge of the rath. The enclosing bank (Wth c. 4m at NW, 3.3m at S; int. H 0.7m at NW, 0.25m at S; ext. H 1.9m at NW, 1.1m at S) retains a low internal lip on the W arc, but is largely reduced to a scarp. Outside the bank at NW, there is a short length (L 3m) of possible external bank, evident as a low, stony heather-covered rise (Wth 2m; H 0.4-0.55m). The intervening gap/possible fosse between the external bank and the rath is 2m wide.
The interior is level. There is now no obvious entrance gap; it is likely to have been on the truncated E side. In the NW quadrant, a low bank (Wth 1.4m; H 0.4-0.55m), extends from the inner face of the rath bank in a shallow arc for 3m to E.
A drystone field wall/property boundary, on a roughly E−W axis cuts across the N part of the rath. To N of the wall, the interior is scattered with boulders and densely covered in blackthorn and ferns; to S of the wall, the interior is grassy with ferns and a few blackthorns. There is rath (MA063-034----) 120m to NW, and another (MA063-036----) 100m to NE.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 10 September 2020