Ceremonial enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

At the N edge of the Rathcroghan plateau. The mound of Rathmore rath (RO022-055017-) is situated a little E of the centre of a large enclosure (diam. c. 200m E-W) visible on aerial photographs (CUCAP: AJN 100; AVI 13, 14; BDU 98) where it is defined by an earthen bank S-W. This bank is now removed, but traces of a fosse (Wth of top 7m; D 0.3m) W-NW, and a scarp down to the interior (H 0.7m) NE-SE survive. This enclosure is divided by the E-W Tulsk-Ballaghadereen road (N 5), just S of Rathmore rath, leaving the greater portion N of the road. Excavation (99E0123) outside the perimeter at W (Rooney 2000) failed to produce any evidence of the enclosure or material which could be connected with it.
Geohphsical survey produced no evidence of the enclosure in the form of traces of a bank or fosse other than a change of direction in ridge-and-furrow cultivation across the perimeter at ESE which suggests that it was recoginsed as a boundary into the post-medieval period. (Waddell et al. 2009, 69-73)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

Rooney, F. 2000 Ballyconboy. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1999: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 266, No. 761. Bray. Wordwell.

Waddell, J., Fenwick, J. and Barton, K. 2009 Rathcroghan: archaeological and geophysical survey in a ritual landscape. Dublin. Wordwell.