Ringfort (Rath), Clonmore, Co. Tipperary

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Clonmore, Co. Tipperary

Sitting atop a low knoll in the middle of wet, flat grassland near Clonmore in County Tipperary, this early medieval ringfort has an odd geometry that sets it apart from the norm.

Most raths, as these enclosed farmsteads are commonly known, tend toward the circular; this one is distinctly D-shaped, with a straight southern side roughly 22 metres long where a later field boundary cuts clean across it on an east-west axis. That intersection has done the monument no favours, and the enclosing bank has been worn down over centuries to little more than a scarp about 1.2 metres high. The outer fosse, a defensive ditch that would once have reinforced the bank, survives in part but has been filled in across the north-eastern to south-eastern arc, leaving only a fragment of its original form.

Ringforts were built throughout Ireland primarily during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries, and functioned as enclosed farmsteads for free farming families. They are among the most common archaeological monument types in the Irish landscape, yet each one carries its own particular story of alteration, neglect, and survival. This example, with an internal diameter of approximately 29 metres on its longer axis, sits on ground that would have offered a clear view in every direction, a practical advantage for anyone keeping watch over livestock or watching for approaching visitors. The knoll it occupies is modest, but in flat wet terrain even a slight elevation counts for a good deal. No clear entrance feature is currently visible, which is not unusual where earthworks have been reduced or disturbed, though the original opening would typically have faced east or south-east in sites of this type.

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