Enclosure - large enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating and low-lying wet pasture, overlooked by higher ground. Annotated ‘Rathglass’ on 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map. A moated site (WM025-054----) and a ringfort (WM025-053----) lies c. 145m and c. 160m to NW, respectively and a ringfort (WM025-057----) lies c. 180m to ESE. Monument described in 1971 as an unusually large subrectangular-shaped area (approx. diam. 118m E-W x 80m N-S) enclosed by an earthen bank and an external fosse. The bank is slight and is pierced with numerous small disturbance gaps. The bank has been reduced to a steep scarp from NE-E-ESE where it incorporates a later field bank. Vague traces of wide, shallow fosse are visible from SSW-W-N and a water-logged trench is present from NE-E-ESE. There are faint traces of a possible outer bank from SSW-W-N. The original entrance is not recognisable. There are old field banks in the immediate vicinity which may be contemporary with this monument and those to NW and ESE. Two of these field banks traverse the fosse and extend to the foot of the bank at SW and NW. The interior rises gently from the perimeter towards the centre and there is a long rectangular-shaped house site (WM025-055001-) in the SE quadrant. Monument visible as a substantial subcircular-shaped earthwork on oblique aerial photograph (CUCAP AYR024) taken 11/07/1969.

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

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

Date of upload: 10 September 2019

References

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