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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Emper, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ringfort - rath, Emper, County Westmeath, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Emper
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Partial hachured
Coordinates
53.59568, -7.58393
SMR number
WM010-007----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1811 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight SSW facing slope in gently undulating grassland with excellent views from E-S-SW. Large ringfort (WM010-006---), possible mound barrow (WM010-003----) and Emper Fair Green 456 and 330m to WSW respectively. Depicted as a raised circular-shaped platform defined by a bank with fosse and external bank on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map. On the revised 192 ed. OS 25-inch map only the outer enclosing element of the monument is depicted, with no depiction of the raised central platform.
Described in 1976 as a large circular-shaped enclosure (approx. diam. 55m NE-SW) enclosed by an earthen bank with wide shallow external fosse. From SW-W-N-NE the perimeter of the site is formed by a field fence as depicted on the 1912 ed. OS 6-inch. Today the enclosing element of the monument from NE-E-S-SW has been levelled and is now visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph a crop mark. Its depiction on the 1838 ed. OS 6-inch map suggests that this was originally a bivallate ringfort, with a raised circular-shaped platform (approx. diam. 25m NW-SE).

See attached profile of monument surveyed and drawn by the ASI.

Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 23 August 2018

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Ringfort - rath in Westmeath All County Westmeath records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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