Ringfort (Cashel), Formoyle, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Ringforts
Most ringforts are circular, which is part of what makes this one worth a second look.
Sitting on a west-facing slope in the Caher River valley in County Clare, this enclosure breaks the expected mould by being trapezoidal, roughly 45 metres from west to east and 38 metres from north to south, its outline defined by a stony bank that has endured in the surrounding pasture.
A cashel, to distinguish it from an earthen ringfort or ráth, is an enclosure bounded by a stone wall rather than a raised earthen bank. Both types date broadly to the early medieval period in Ireland, roughly the sixth to twelfth centuries, and are thought to have served as farmsteads or enclosed settlements for a single family and their livestock. The irregular, trapezoidal plan here is unusual; most cashels conform closely to a circular or oval outline, and the departure from that norm suggests either adaptation to the local terrain of the valley slope or some other constraint that shaped how the builders worked. The stony bank itself remains visible in aerial photography, including ortho imagery captured between 2013 and 2018, which means the structure has survived well enough to read clearly from above even if its profile on the ground is lower than it once was.