Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Located at the SE end of a short NW-SE drumlin ridge. This monument is depicted on McCrea’s map of County Monaghan (1793) and on subsequent OS 6-inch maps. It is an oval grass-covered area (dims 36.6m N-S; 28.6m E-W) that slopes down slightly to the S (H 1.3m). It is defined by an earthen bank (Wth 6-7m; int. H 1.2m; ext. H 2.8-3m) with some bushes separated by a flat-bottomed fosse (Wth of top 7.2-8m; Wth of base 1-2m; ext. D 1.4-1.6m) from an outer bank (Wth 4.5-5m; ext. H 0.8-1m). There is an entrance through the inner (Wth of base 2.8m) and outer (Wth of base 1.8m) banks with a causeway (Wth of top 3.5m; H 0.8m) at SSE. Field banks approach the monument from NE, SE, SW and NW, and cross the fosse to the inner bank, while an outer field bank is reduced to a scarp (H 1m) outside the outer bank NW-NE (max. ext. dim. 56m N-S).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 6 December 2017