Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ringfort - rath
Ballyowen, County Westmeath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Ballyowen
- County
- Westmeath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Latest-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Coordinates
- 53.55941, -7.14777
- SMR number
- WM020-021----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated on top of a steep, naturally formed, gravel hillock, in gently undulating pasture with good views in all directions. Ringfort (WM020-020----) lies c. 165m to NNW. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as an oval-shaped earthwork (approx. dims. 55m NE-SW; 44m NW-SE). Monument described in 1970 as a broad oval-shaped area (approx. diam. 37m) enclosed by a steep bank which is almost reduced to a scarp from WSW-W-N-ENE. There is no visible trace of a fosse. A gap (Wth at top 5.5m; basal Wth 2.6m) at N may represent the entrance. Some large stones lie on the surface inside the entrance at W. The interior rises appreciably from the perimeter to the centre. Within are two pronounced banks which extend from the perimeter at W and NW, to the centre, where there is a modern depression and a small quarry hole. A portion of the perimeter has been quarried at ESE. Much of the monument is visible today as a quarry on Digital Globe aerial photography.
Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien
Date of upload: 06 June 2019
Nearby in the register
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - unclassifiedunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.