Castle - ringwork

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the S bank of the W-E Clonard River, with a NW-SE canalised section of the steam c. 10m to the E. This is an oval, grass-covered area (dims c. 70m NE-SW, c. 50m NW-SE) defined by the remains of an earthen bank with an external fosse and outer bank NNW-NNE, and slighter features elsewhere. Partial excavation (E000154) by P. D. Sweetman (1978, 15) revealed a wooden palisade at the E end of the outer bank at NE, which could be dated to the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century (excavations.ie 1976:55). The motte (ME047-004----) is across the river, c. 70m to the NE, and the burial ground (ME047-017----) is c. 40m to the S.

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: 21 July 2016
Amended: 13 August 2019

References

Sweetman, P.D. 1978 Excavations of medieval 'field boundaries' at Clonard, Co. Meath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 108, 10-22.