Henge

The National Monuments Service's description

This monument is described by Stout (1991, 271) as:
The full extent of this enclosure was not known prior to aerial survey undertaken by L. Swan. It is located on a ridge west of the Hill of Tara and is separated from Tara by a small stream. The geology and soil conditions are similar to Rath Meave (ME037-008----). The northern half of the enclosing bank has been completely levelled and it can only be detected as a crop mark on aerial photographs. The monument would originally have had a maximum overall diameter of 150m. The enclosing bank reaches a maximum height of 2m and has an atypical rounded profile. It has a width of 7m at its base, which is narrow compared with the other Boyne-type enclosures, perhaps as a result of continuous cultivation, which cut back the face of the bank. The interior of this site has a domed shape which must have resulted from the quarrying of the perimeter area to acquire bank material. Along the western portion of the site, an outer ditch running contiguous to the bank for a distance of 47m is 10m wide and has a maximum depth of 1.5m. This is the remains of a field boundary which ran across the northern edge of the enclosure, and is marked on the first edition OS 6-inch map of 1836. A 15m-wide break in the bank in the south-east (127 degrees T), in an area of considerable disturbance, is the most likely location for the original entrance. Aerial photographs taken by Swan indicated a number of ring-ditches within this embanked enclosure. (Thornton 1980, 117-19; Moore 1987, 41, No. 316)

Date of revision: 10 January 2017

References

Stout, G. 1991 The embanked enclosures of the Boyne region. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 91C, 245-84.

Thornton, G. 1980 A survey of the earthen enclosures of the Boyne Valley and related sites. MA thesis, University College, Dublin.

Moore, M. 1987 Archaeological inventory of county Meath. Dublin. Stationery Office.