Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In level pasture, on a NW-SE ridge, with good views over Carras Lough to E.
Depicted on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as a circular enclosure, and on the 1915 edition as a penannular embanked enclosure, open to E and crossed centrally on a NE-SW axis by a field boundary.
This enclosure (diam. 42m) was levelled during land reclamation work in the late 1990’s. A slightly sunken farm track, flanked by field fences, crosses it centrally on a NE-SW axis. When inspected in 2000, the outline of the levelled bank was apparent as a circular cropmark in the fields on either side of the trackway.
Part of the levelled bank on the SW arc is visible as a rise in the floor of the trackway. The rise (Wth c. 12m; H 0.7m) spans the width of the track. In line with it, a portion of the bank (W c. 5m NE−SW; H 1.2m) is preserved in section in the field fence on the N side of the track. Another rise (H 1m; Wth slope 7m) at the NE end of the trackway, where it intersects with a tarred road, is less clearly defined but probably also represents a portion of the NE arc of the levelled bank. There is a possible enclosure (MA119-073----) c. 15m to NNW.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 10 August 2023