Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight rise in a gently undulating landscape. It is depicted as a circular embanked enclosure described as a ‘Fort’ on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map and as a hachured feature on the 1912 edition. It was described in 1968 (SMR file) as an overgrown circular area (diam. 35m NE-SW; 33m NW-SE) that had been quarried but the original bank (at SE: Wth of base 8.2m; int. H 0.7m; ext. H 2.7m) survived ESE-S-NNW and was incorporated in a road bank NNW-ESE. There was no visible fosse but the likely entrance (Wth of base 1.9m) was at NNE. The scrub had been cleared by 1995 (OSAP).

 

A magnetometer survey (21R0116) by I. Elliott (2021) over the southern half of the rath produced no evidence of archaeological features. Archaeological testing (21E0390) by P. D. Sweetman (2021) of the same development site c. 40m to the E of the rath at ITM (673573, 778628) identified no related material. Another magnetometer survey (21R0141) by I. Elliott (2021b) at ITM (673590, 778705), c. 20m to the NE of the rath at the closest point, had to be abandoned due to the site being heavily magnetically disturbed, resulting in wildly fluctuating magnetic readings. Archaeological testing (21E0397) of the same site by R. Meenan (2021) identified no related material or any other archaeological features.

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: 9 April 2019

Amended: 14 October 2025

References

SMR file - Sites and monuments record files in the National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. OSAP - Ordnance Survey Aerial Photographs. Photographic collection. Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Dublin.

Elliott, I. 2021 Archaeo-geophysical survey at Dulane, Co. Meath. Licence: 21R0116. Unpublished report, IAGS

Elliott, I. 2021b Archaeo-geophysical survey at Dulane, Co. Meath. Licence: 21R0141. Unpublished report, IAGS

Meenan, R. 2021 Report on testing at Dulane Co. Meath. Licence: 21E0397. Unpublished report, the author

Sweetman, P. D. 2021 Report on Archaeological Assessment at Dulane Co. Meath. Licence: 21E0390. Unpublished report, the author