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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Monkstown, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ringfort - rath, Monkstown, 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
Monkstown
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Partially hachured
Coordinates
53.59812, -7.26417
SMR number
WM012-077----

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)

Get directions ↗

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

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on W facing slope of hill in grassland with extensive views from S-W-N. Motte and bailey (WM012-079----) 140m to NE, Taghmon church (WM012-076----) and castle (WM012-074----) 330m and 460m to the NNW respectively. Depicted on the 1837 OS Fair Plan map as a broad circular shaped earthwork annotated as ‘fort’. This site now consists of a slightly raised sub-rectangular shaped area (approx. diam. 24m N-S; 21m E-W) enclosed by an earth and stone bank and shallow external fosse with possible entrance gap (Wth 2.3m) at SW. The bank and fosse are only visible from SE-S-NW. A field fence running E-W which is the townland boundary with Taghmon intersects the perimeter of the site at N. A curving field fence which is the townland boundary with Glebe forms the NE perimeter of the monument. A field boundary at NE represents the townland boundary with Glebe. Traces of cultivation ridges are visible running E-W across the interior of the monument. Outline of monument is visible on aerial photographs taken in 1970 (CUCAP BDV079/080).

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

Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 15 February 2018

References

CUCAP - Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photographs. Unit for Landscape Modelling, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. See:https://www.cambridgeairphotos.com

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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