Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on an elevation at W end of a small E−W ridge, in rolling limestone grassland, broken in parts by expanses of karst and high rock-outcropping. A seam of natural rock outcropping along the top of the ridge on its N edge marks the break of slope. From here ground falls into a small, narrow valley, with a modern field wall built along the top of the N limits of the valley. There are excellent views in all directions. A wet area/possible turlough is evident to S, marked ‘Liable to flood’ on the OS 6-inch map.
This cashel is recorded in an aerial photograph (SMR file: CUPAP AYR 87 & 88 & 89).
Circular area (diam. c. 30m) enclosed by a wall which is reduced now to a broad, low grass-covered stone bank (Wth c. 3m). The enclosing wall coincides on its N arc with the break of slope of the ridge where ground falls into the small valley. A wall (H c. 0.8m) dating to the modern era overlies the cashel wall; it is roughly-built of limestone boulders, one boulder wide. It is built along the inner edge of the cashel wall on the E half of the circuit and on the outer edge of the cashel wall on the W half.
The interior of the cashel is densely planted with conifers, making inspection difficult. The interior surface is uneven with several rises and dips, occasional boulders and small heaps of loose stones, all covered with a thick carpet of pine needles. In the NW quadrant is rectilinear depression (6m NW−SE; c. 3m NE−SW; D 0.4m), possibly the remains of a house (MA119-040002-).
The CUCAP photograph also recorded a field system (MA119-040003-) surrounding the cashel and extending to E and S of it, associated with a cluster of rectangular vernacular houses. The field walls and houses were subsequently levelled during reclamation works.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 10 August 2023