Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Ringfort - rath
Coyne, County Westmeath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Coyne
- County
- Westmeath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Dotted outline
- Latest-edition OS map
- Hachured
- Coordinates
- 53.47721, -7.51697
- SMR number
- WM025-082----
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 rise, in gently undulating pasture, with good views in all directions. Ringfort (WM025-083----) lies c. 12m to E and a souterrain (WM025-151----) lies c. 30m to SSE which was uncovered during the construction of a public road (Glasscock 1974, 230). Ringfort described in 1971 as a large subcircular-shaped area (dims. c. 40-43m) enclosed by a substantial earth and stone bank (Wth at top c. 2m; overall Wth 4-5m) bank, an intervening fosse and an outer bank with causewayed entrance gap at ENE. There is a wide and deep external fosse (max. Wth 5m; D 3.5-5m) defined by steep sides which is visible from WNW-N-E-S-SSW. The external face of the fosse has the remains of modern-looking drystone facing in places. A modern roadside wall abuts the base of the bank from SSW-W-WNW and obscures the fosse around this western arc. There are traces of a very slight outer bank of earth and stone, which has been removed at S due to quarrying and is truncated by the public road around the western arc. The interior has a gentle NE-facing slope and is bisected by a low, linear earth and stone bank running NNW-SSE. There is a gap in the partition bank off-centre to NNW. Two house sites (WM025-082001-/002-) are visible within the interior. The base of a stone wall running roughly NW-SE intersects the outer edge of the fosse at ESE and conjoins this monument to a nearby ngfort (WM025-083----). Monument is visible as a roughly circular-shaped earthwork on oblique aerial photographs (CUCAP AJQ089/AOY101/102/BDK028) taken 09/07/1964, 12/07/1966 and 14/07/1970 respectively.
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: 12 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
Glasscock, R.E. 1974 Two Raths in Coyne. Journal of the Old Athlone Society 4, 230-1.
Nearby in the register
- House - indeterminate dateunder 1 mi
- House - indeterminate dateunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- House - indeterminate dateunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.