Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

In wet pasture, on elevated ground at the base of a high ridge. A roughly circular area (c. 84m NNE-SSW; 77m WNW-ESE) defined by a poorly preserved earthen bank and an external fosse. The gently rounded bank (Wth 3.5m; int. H 1.8m; ext. H 0.45m) is clearly defined S-SW and is evident as an intermittent low rise (Wth c. 3m; ext. H 0.6m) NE-S; elsewhere the interior is defined by a scarp (H 0.9m). The flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 2m; D 1.3m) is clearly defined S-SW but is shallow (Wth 3m; D 0.4m) elsewhere. Both the bank and the fosse are cut into rising ground S-SW and are cut by a trackway at SW.
The N two thirds of the interior are occupied by a small oval hillock (c. 60m NW-SE; 47m NE-SW) with a flattened top and broadly sloping sides. A gap (Wth 5-10m) of level ground separates the base of the hillock from the bank along the E arc. A recently recut stream, with mounds of upcast on its S side, crosses the S third of the interior, cutting through the enclosing elements at SSE and SW. The bank and fosse are obscured by the upcast at SSE. The trackway which cuts the bank and fosse at SW continues into the interior and crosses the stream via a concrete bridge. A N-S field boundary (Wth 2.6m; H 0.7m), flanked by drains (Wth 1m), crosses the interior to W of centre. Another field boundary extends E from this, defining the S side of the hillock. A degraded NNE-SSW field boundary crosses the SE end of the hillock. Linked to this is a low scarp following the curve of the hillock NNE-SSW, thus enclosing a roughly D-shaped area (c. 30m NNE-SSW; 18m E-W), with a pronounced slope down to E. To SW of the enclosure the ground rises sharply in a broad steep NE-facing slope, part of a high ridge that overlooks the enclosure. A moated site (SL025-131----) lies c. 50 m to E and a fulacht fia (SL025-165001-) c. 30m to SE.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005).

Date of upload: 18 January 2008