Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, straddling the gentle break of slope, on top of the NE side of a broad flat-topped hill with extensive views in all directions. A roughly circular platform (c. 23m N-S) defined by an inner stony bank, remnants of an outer bank and an intervening fosse. An thicket of blackthorn bushes engulfs all but the W third of the rath. The inner bank (Wth at base 5m; Wth at top 1m; int. H 1m; ext. H 1.85m) is substantial with a broad internal rim of earth and stone. Quarrying has truncated this bank and part of the interior E-SE. The fosse (Wth at top 5m, at base 2.8m; D 0.8m) is flat-bottomed and quite well defined S-W, truncated by a semicircular quarry pit (15m N-S; 12m E-W) W-NW and continues NNW-SE as a shallow depression (Wth 4m). A dilapidated, discontinuous outer bank is evident NE-S. It appears NE-E as a low gapped rise (Wth 2m, H 0.3m). A discrete irregular rise (Wth 4m; H 0.95) at ESE, opposite the quarried section of the inner bank, appears to be on the line of the outer bank but may incorporate quarry material. A low bank (Wth 3m; H 0.3m) forming a lip on the outer edge of the fosse SE-S may have been incorporated into the line of a field boundary, now removed, that extended W from the rath. The E portion of the level interior is raised to compensate for the hillslope. Traces of ridge and furrow are visible on the hilltop.

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