Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in tillage on a gentle N-facing slope. A roughly circular enclosure (int. diam. c. 30m; overall diam. 65m) was identified as a cropmark on an aerial photograph (OSAP, 9859-95, 24). It is not visible at ground level, but its presence was confirmed by a geophysical survey conducted by GBS prospection as part of an EIS conducted by Phelan (03E0375) during 2001 (Phelan 2003, Fig. 5; Phelan 2006). The monument was fully excavated in 2015 in advance of a development following the re-zoning of the land for industrial use (Walsh and Ficner 2015). The structures and finds associated with the monument suggest that this was a ringfort dating to the 8th-10th centuries AD. Internally there are two structures (WA009-003003-; WA009-003004-), both defined by a concentration of post-holes, two souterrains (WA009-003005-; WA009-003006-) and a sunken structure (WA009-003007-). The interior was enclosed by two fosses with an entrance (Wth c. 2.5-3m) in the NE quadrant. The inner fosse (av.Wth 3.5m; max. D 2m) was steep-sided with a rounded or flat base, in places dug into the underlying slaty bedrock. The outer fosse (av. Wth 1.7m; D 0.9m) was gradual to steep-sided with a rounded base and lay 2-3m outside and concentric with the inner fosse. The entrance is defined by a break in the fosses with drystone built revetments at the terminals. Two pairs of large post-holes at the entrance have been interpreted as the foundations of gated entrance features. There was a third outermost discontinuous fosse (av. Wth 1.7m; D 0.1-0.5m) which had gently sloping sides and a rounded base, also 2-3m outside and, where evident, concentric with the middle fosse. This fosse had small gaps in the SW (c. 10m), NW (c. 4m) and NNE (c. 5m) and a break (c. 40m) from NE-SE. The excavation also revealed field ditches (WA009-003002-) which appear to be contemporary with the ringfort. (Walsh and Ficner 2015).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of revision: 12 January 2016

References

Walsh, F. 2020 A multivallate ringfort at Knockhouse Lower, Co. Waterford. The Journal of Irish Archaeology 29, 119-38.

Phelan, S. 2003 Archaeological assessment, Knockhouse Lower, Co. Waterford. Licence no. 03E0375. ). Unpublished archaeological excavation report, National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Walsh, F. and Ficner, H. 2015 Preliminary report on excavations at Archaeological Area 1 at Knockhouse Lower, Co. Waterford. Licence no. 15E0215. Unpublished archaeological excavation report, National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Phelan, S. 2006 Knockhouse Lower. Prehistoric. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2003: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 503, No. 1901. Wordwell. Bray.