Ringfort (Rath), Cummeen, Co. Sligo

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Cummeen, Co. Sligo

Sitting in rough, undulating pasture in Cummeen, County Sligo, this early medieval ringfort is the kind of earthwork that rewards a second look.

What makes it slightly unusual is its double-bank construction: not just the single enclosing rampart that many raths rely on, but an outer bank as well, separated from the inner one by a fosse, the flat-bottomed or V-shaped defensive ditch that was a standard feature of these farmstead enclosures. Ringforts, known variously as raths or lios depending on region, were the most common settlement type in early medieval Ireland, typically built between roughly 500 and 1000 AD to enclose a family's dwelling and protect livestock. A double-banked example like this one would have indicated a household of some standing, the extra labour of construction being itself a mark of status.

The enclosure is roughly circular, about thirty metres across internally. The inner bank stands approximately one metre on the interior side and two metres on the exterior, with a width of around 2.2 metres. Beyond the fosse, which is nearly 2.8 metres wide, the outer bank is largely intact around the full circuit, though a section running from the north-east to the south-east has been clipped by a minor road. The entrance gap, oriented to the north-north-west, is visible as a break of about 2.4 metres in the inner bank and a wider gap of six metres in the outer one, the difference in widths perhaps reflecting how the approach funnelled visitors before they reached the inner threshold. Two narrow roads now border the site to the north and east, pressing up against earthworks that were already ancient when those roads were first laid.

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Pete F
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