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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Drewstown Little, County Meath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ringfort - rath, Drewstown Little, 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
Drewstown Little
County
Meath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Fort
Latest-edition OS map
Hachured
Coordinates
53.65489, -6.95061
SMR number
ME023-016----

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 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1799 · 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

Situated at the NE end of a short NE-SW ridge in a low-lying landscape, with the N-S Athboy River c. 60m to the E. This is an oval or subrectangular, domed (H 2.2m at SE to 3.2m at NW) and grass-covered area (dims 49m NE-SW; 34m WNW-ESE) defined by a grass-covered earthen bank (Wth of base 6m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 1m) with some bushes across the ridge S-W and by a scarp (at SE: Wth 4m; H 1m; at NW: Wth 2m; H 0.9m) that melds into the natural slope elsewhere. There is an external fosse (Wth of top 4.5m; Wth of base 3.2m) and outer bank (Wth of base 4m; ext. H 0.8m) NW-N. There is a ramp entrance (Wth of base 2.2m) at NE which may be modern.

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: 28 February 2019
Amended: 23 March 2023

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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