TreeAlive
‹ Sites and Monuments Record, Ireland

Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Earthwork

Hanstown, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Earthwork, Hanstown, 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
Hanstown
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Hachured
Latest-edition OS map
Hachured
Coordinates
53.48959, -7.43342
SMR number
WM025-066----

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 a steep-sided natural hillock, on reclaimed undulating grassland with good views in all directions. Stream located 60m to S. Possible ringfort (WM025-064----) located 235m to N; concentric enclosure (WM025-065----) 345m to NE and large ringfort (WM025-063----) 460m to W. The sides of the base and top of the natural hillock have been scarped to form an oval-shaped flat-topped mound or platform (diam. 26m E-W; 16m N-S) defined by a scarp with no evidence of an enclosing bank defining the edge of the scarped hillock. At the base of the hillock are the remains of a berm which runs around the base of the hillock giving the mound a stepped profile. No entrance feature visible. The classification of this monument is problematical. It was classified as a ringfort in 1971 (SMR File) but the lack of an enclosing feature and no visible sign of an entrance gap along with its mound like appearance would argue against such a classification. The earthwork has the appearance of a burial mound and the berm running around the base of the hillock is similar to a stepped-barrow. Its location on wet reclaimed grassland utilising a natural hillock would support this burial mound classification. Alternatively the mound could be the remains of a type of ringfort often described as a raised rath or could be the remains of a low Anglo-Norman motte castle.

Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 26 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
All Earthwork in Westmeath All County Westmeath records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
See your own family's places on a living map