Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Monument placed on the Register of Historic Monuments on the 17/02/1988. Schedule Serial Number 4/88 Extract from Iris Oifigiúil 26th February 1988.
Situated on a prominent natural hillock with good views from W to NW. Depicted as an oval-shaped enclosure or ringfort on 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map with road immediately to SSE. Ringfort (WM026-005----) 300m to WNW and second ringfort (WM026-006----) 345m to NW. A large oval-shaped area (diam. 42m N-S; 36m E-W) enclosed by two low earth and stone banks with wide deep intervening fosse, traces of a shallow external fosse visible at S only with causewayed (Wth 3.2m) entrance gap (Wth 2.7m) at E. The low inner bank is poorly preserved. There is a wide berm visible from SW-W-NW which seems to have been disturbed by two slight banks that have been built upon it in the post-1700 period. It is possible that the enclosing element of the monument was landscaped in the post-1700 period and that a berm was created when the monument was enclosed by a field boundary of post-1700 date. The outer enclosing element from the N-NE appears to date from post-1837 as it is not depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map. The outer enclosing element at SE has been heightened and steepened probably in the 19th century. The interior is uneven and slopes from the perimeter to the central area following the slope of the natural hillock. Traces of a low bank in the NW quadrant of the interior forming one end of a rectangular structure may suggest the presence of a house site but this is uncertain.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 16 August 2017