Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, on a rise with a marked fall of ground to SW−N. Very good views.
Roughly circular raised area (29m N-S; 32m E-W) defined at NNE−E by a bank of earth and stone, reduced elsewhere to scarp topped with slightly raised stony rim, outside which it is enclosed by a fosse (2.5-3m) with an external bank (Wth 2m; int. H 0.2m; ext. H 0.35m).
The fosse is largely silted up and at E−S is filled with field clearance debris. The outer bank survives as a low, dilapidated earth and stone rise. At N where it merges with the natural fall of ground, the fosse appears as a level terrace (Wth 2.8m) with the outer bank reduced to a stony scarp (H 0.7m) merging with the hill slope. In the rath interior, stones are strewn across the ground surface, and protrude slightly from the surface in the N and NE part of the interior. The W and SW sector appear to be a slightly higher level than the rest of the interior, with a slope down towards the bank at W and N. In the SW quadrant, there is an oval depression (7.5m NE-SW; 4m NW-SE; D 0.5m) with stones protruding randomly from the sides, possibly a collapsed souterrain (MA081-028001-).
A gap (Wth 1.6m) in the bank at ESE may be an original entrance. There appears to be a corresponding gap in the outer bank, now blocked with field clearance debris. The ringfort is engulfed in hazel and hawthorn trees.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 8 December 2021