Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on level ground that slopes away gently towards to the W towards the Dereen River, which is c. 190m away from the centre of the site (c. 95m OD), and slopes gently upwards to the E of the site. Landscape is characterised by pastoral farming with regular field boundaries, apart from along the Dereen River where the field boundaries meander along the river course. Site located adjacent to rectangular-plan Liscolman Burial Ground (WI037-005---), which occupies the SE quadrant of the enclosure, and c. 450m ENE of an impressive ringfort at Tankardstown to the W side of the Deeren River. This large enclosure is visible on Google Earth aerial photograph of the site (July 2021). It consists of a circular feature (ext. dims c. 130.5m N-S x 116.8mm E-W) that is defined by a ditch (Wth c. 6.1m m to N) that is mostly clearly visible along the N arc, visible intermittently along the SW quadrant, and obscured by the burial ground and its walled enclosure to the SE quadrant. No definitive evidence for an entrance gap. The site of this enclosure encompassing Liscolman Burial Ground hints that it may have been an ecclesiastical enclosure associated with an early religious foundation.

Compiled by: T.J. O'Meara based on details provided by Jean-Charles Caillère

Uploaded on: 29/06/2023