Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture located on a rise, with very good views. There is a stream/drain 100m to W.
Raised circular platform (20.6m N−S; 20.5m E−W) defined by an earthen bank, and enclosed by a fosse with an external bank.
The inner bank has a low internal lip and a well defined external scarp; it is primarily earthen, with stones protruding in parts. The fosse is evident as a flat terrace cut into the hill slope, especially on the W half of the circuit. The outer bank has a low internal lip and a pronounced external slope, which is enhanced by the hill slope, especially on the W arc; it incorporates a lot of stone on the S arc, some of which may be the result of field clearance or other recent modifications of the rath. Part of the external face of the outer bank at NW has been quarried away, and a section at NE−SE has been levelled and replaced by a straight N−S field wall, part of a later system of field walls which enclose the rath at N, E and S. There are breaks in the external bank at SSW (Wth 3m) and ESE (Wth 4m); these were opened in the relatively recent past to allow the S arc of the fosse to be used as a farm track.
There is an entrance gap (Wth 2m) in the inner bank at E, corresponding with raised area across the fosse which may be an original causeway (Wth 4m); no corresponding break in the external bank is evident as this section has been levelled.
The interior is level. There is a slight, oblong grass-covered rise or mound (L 2.6m N−S; Wth 1m E; H 0.2m) in the N half, with a slight hollow immediately adjacent at W, and another smaller rise a few meters to W. A field wall, oriented ENE−WSW, crosses the S edge of the interior.
Hawthorn bushes ring the perimeter.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 5 May 2021