Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a low ridge running N-S, in pasture, with extensive views to S and SW. Depicted as an enclosure on Larkin’s 1808 map of Co. Westmeath (NLI, MS 46,580). Monument described in 1978 as an oval-shaped area (dims. 59m NNE-SSW; 42m ESE-WNW) enclosed by an earthen bank and external fosse. The bank is well defined on the exterior and is almost reduced to a scarp which is steep from NNE-ESE. The fosse is present from NNW-N-NNE and from SSW-S-SSE. There may be traces of an outer bank at N but this is indefinite as it seems to continue on to the E and may be an old field bank. There may have been an entrance at SE where the scarp is lower. The interior is level and featureless. An old field bank running NNE-SSW, now largely removed, skirted the edge of the monument, to W. Visible today as the low outline of a levelled enclosure on Digital Globe aerial photograph.

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

Date of upload: 04 November 2019

References

NLI, MS 46,580 - National Library of Ireland, A map of the county of Westmeath by William Larkin. Dublin.