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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Ringfort - rath

Hanstown, County Westmeath, Ireland

The record

Townland
Hanstown
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Hachured
Coordinates
53.49180, -7.43405
SMR number
WM025-064----

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

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (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 atop low natural gravel hillock in area of reclaimed undulating grassland with good views in all directions. Slight rise of ground or low hillock marks site of levelled earthwork which may have been the site of a small ringfort. Monument was levelled in 1964 during reclamation of the field in which the monument was situated . The monument was inspected in 1964 prior to its levelling when it was described as following: ‘Small esker, slightly scarped round the foot to give it a clean edge. Not so far as I can see of archaeological interest. A patch of dry ground in an otherwise boggy field it was probably used for hay’ (SMR File). Recorded in 1971 as a monument that had been completely levelled and described a following: ‘The site is a small oval fairly steep egg-shaped natural rise (dims. 19.8m WNW-ESE; 29m NNE-SSW). The present surface of the site is disturbed gravelly earth. The site could have been a small rath. Sited on relatively lowlying land which was probably wet until the present drains were recently made. The land around the site has been recently reclaimed’ (SMR File 1971). On the Ordnance Survey fair plan map the monument is depicted as a small circular earthwork and marked as a fort (SMR File).

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 23 May 2014

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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