Ringfort (Rath), Carrowconor, Co. Sligo

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Carrowconor, Co. Sligo

On a north-facing slope in County Sligo, a roughly circular earthwork sits quietly on a low rise, its perimeter bank still legible after what are likely more than a thousand years of weathering and encroachment.

This is a rath, the most common type of ringfort found across Ireland, a form of enclosed farmstead typical of the early medieval period, roughly the fifth to twelfth centuries. The enclosing bank here measures between three and just under four metres wide, and stands up to 1.8 metres on its outer face, which is modest but enough to have defined a working boundary when the ground was clear and the bank freshly built.

The interior, roughly 21 metres across, preserves several details that reward closer attention. Stones protruding through the sod along parts of the inner circuit suggest the remnants of a kerb, probably the edging of the original bank construction. Running from just east of centre on a north-north-west to south-south-east axis is a linear feature that may represent an internal division, perhaps separating a dwelling area from an animal enclosure or storage space, a arrangement not uncommon in ringforts of this type. In the south-east quadrant, a rubble-filled feature of uncertain function adds a further layer of ambiguity to the site. The most likely location for the original entrance is on the west side, where a low, poorly defined break in the bank spans about three metres. A separate eroded gap, only a metre wide, opens at the south, though whether this is an original feature or the result of later disturbance is unclear.

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Pete F
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