Ringfort - cashel

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on a roughly oval ,SW-facing terrace on the W slope of a low N-S ridge, in an area of sharply undulating terrain broken by limestone outcropping. At the SW–W edge of the terrace, the slope drops into a relatively narrow, natural NNW-SSE depression, on the opposite side of which ground rises again to another broad ridge.
A previous inspection in 1993 found that the cashel was densely engulfed in overgrowth which impeded examination (Egan et al. 2005, 148, no. 820). Since then, it has been largely cleared of scrub.
It consists of a roughly oval area (27m NW–SE; 19.5m NE–SW), which conforms to the natural shape of the terrace. The perimeter at NE–SE is defined by an inward-facing scarp or slope (H 1.7m; Wth slope c. 4m), roughly defined on its upper edge, which coincides with the level ridge top, by stones, boulders and tree stumps. At SW–W the perimeter is bordered by a fall of ground, and is partly defined by limestone outcropping. Remnants of an original enclosing wall can still be traced at the NNW and SE edges of the terrace: At NNW a short length (L 5m) of wall footings (Wth 1.55m) remains in situ, and on the SE arc a low moss-covered stony rise (Wth c. 1.4m) is evident.
The interior slopes down from NE to SW, mirroring the natural slope of the terrace, levelling out in the S third of the enclosure. The ground surface is rough and uneven, broken by outcropping and strewn with loose stones, with small clumps of brambles, blackthorn and hawthorn scrub in parts.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of revised upload: 10 February 2020

References

Egan, U., Byrne, E., Sleeman, M. 2005 Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo, Vol. 1: South Sligo. Dublin. Stationery Office.