Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on top of a ridge with a fall of ground to S into a narrow stream valley. There are good views, particularly extensive to N and E.
Raised circular area (30m N–S; 30m E–W) defined by an earthen bank, and enclosed by a fosse with an external bank.
The inner bank (Wth 3m; int. H 0.35m; ext. H 1.1m at N, 1.7m at S) has a pronounced external slope and retains a low but well defined internal lip, stony in parts. The fosse (Wth 3-3.5m) is evident as a shallow depression at W–N, petering out at E–SE; at S–SW it survives as a terrace (Wth 3m) with a scarp (H 1.1m) on its outer edge which merges with the steep slope dropping to the stream valley.
The external bank is evident at WSW–N as an earth and stone bank (Wth c. 2.5m; int. H 0.65m; ext. H 0.8m, at N) modified to serve as a field fence; it is reduced to a low rise at NE–ENE and does not survive at SE–SW.
The entrance is likely to have been at E where there is a gap (Wth 4m) in the inner bank at E, with corresponding breaks in the fosse and external bank. A protrusion outwards of the S terminal of the entrance gap suggests relatively recent modification. There is also a break in the bank at SW; at its outer edge the break (Wth 0.4m) is narrow, and lined on the SE side with a stone, but it expands to a broader area (Wth 2m) on the inner face to the bank.
The interior has a very slight slope to S. There is a small, shallow hollow (max dim. 2m) in the centre. According to local information, there may be a souterrain (MA082-003001-) in the rath.
Grass cover; hawthorn and gorse on the perimeter at W–N where incorporated into a field fence.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 10 December 2021