Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In lowlying pasture, at the narrow S corner of a rectilinear field. Located at the S end of a broad valley, with steep slopes rising immediately to S–SW of the rath, and the flat expanse of the valley bottom stretching to N–NE towards an arc of rounded hills and ridges in the middle distance. Much of the land to E is now under forestry.
This rath is not shown on the 1838 and 1914 OS 6-inch maps, but is clearly visible in current aerial imagery. It has been partly levelled, and is bisected to E of centre by a field fence on a NE–SW axis. It consists of a slightly raised circular area (diam. 30m) defined by a scarp and enclosed by a fosse with remnants of an external bank. The circular platform is still clearly defined on the N arc, but has been severely levelled at NE–SE (the portion lying to E of the bisecting field fence). A discrete section of the original enclosing bank (Wth 2.25-2.5m; int. H 0.3m; ext. H 0.5m) survives at SSW; elsewhere it has been levelled to a scarp with a broad external slump (ext. H 0.55m at N) dropping into the fosse, which is visible as a shallow depression (Wth 2.5-3m). A hint of a rise/cropmark (Wth 3-4m) on the outer edge of the fosse is all that remains of the external bank.

Attached images:
SL034-256----_01.JPG Rath viewed from NNW
SL034-256----_02.JPG Scarp/bank at NW

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 27 September 2019