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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Ballinlough Big, County Meath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ringfort - rath, Ballinlough Big, County Meath, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Ballinlough Big
County
Meath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Fort
Latest-edition OS map
Indicated
Coordinates
53.74695, -7.05488
SMR number
ME009-078----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1636 map "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1636 · Vltoniae Orientalis Pars (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Located in a slight col with higher ground to the NW and SE, and at the top of a S-facing slope. This is depicted as a circular embanked enclosure (ext. diam. c. 40m) on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map where it is described in gothic lettering as a ‘Fort’ and as a D-shaped field on the 1908 edition. This is a D-shaped grass-covered area (dims 51m NNE-SSW; 41m WNW-ESE) defined by an earthen bank (Wth of base 2-3m; int. H 0.6-1m; ext. H 1-1.6m) with some bushes and a straight NNE-SSW field wall (Wth 1.4m; H 0.8m) at W, but there is no evidence of the monument W of this feature. There is no visible fosse and the only entrance is a gap (Wth of base 1m) at SSW.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 1 November 2018

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Ringfort - rath in Meath All County Meath records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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