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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Ballard (Rathconrath By.), County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Ringfort - rath, Ballard, 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
Ballard (Rathconrath By.)
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Hachured
Coordinates
53.52228, -7.56634
SMR number
WM017-076----

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 W facing slope of a prominent ridge, in pasture with good views to N, W & S and overlooked by slightly higher ground to E. Depicted on the 1837 OS 6-inch map and revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a roughly circular-shaped enclosure. Described in 1980 as a roughly circular-shaped area (29.5m NW-SE; 27m NE-SW) defined by a steep scarp with the remains of an inner bank, an intervening fosse and the remains of a low outer bank with causewayed entrance gap (Wth 3m) at SE. The inner bank of earth and stone is very low and faint and is almost reduced to a scarp in places. It is set back from the edge of the scarp from N-E-ESE leaving a narrow berm (Wth 3m). There are remains of an internal stone facing from SSE-S-SSW. The intervening fosse is well preserved being wide and deep. The outer bank of earth and stone retains traces of an internal and external stone facing in places and has a number of disturbance gaps. There are the remains of a stone-faced entrance gap in the inner bank, a causeway (Wth 3.5m; H 0.7m) across the fosse and a corresponding gap (Wth 5.5m) in the outer bank at SE. The interior is uneven, rising toward the centre from the SE and S. Monument visible today as a roughly circular-shaped tree-lined enclosure on Digital Globe aerial photography.

Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 20 December 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
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