Hut site, Lickbla, Co. Westmeath
Co. Westmeath |
Settlement Sites
On a north-south ridge in County Westmeath, the faint outline of a rectangular house sits atop a circular platform at the centre of a ringfort.
That layering alone gives the site an unusual character: a ringfort is an early medieval enclosed farmstead, typically defined by one or more earthen banks and ditches, and here the remains of a later rectangular structure have been built directly onto the raised platform at its core. The arrangement suggests reuse across different periods, the site retaining some practical or symbolic value long after its original function had changed.
The ridge commands strong views to the southeast, and the site sits in notable company. The Hill of Mael lies roughly a kilometre to the north, and the Rock of Curry around 1.3 kilometres to the northwest, two landmarks that suggest this stretch of Westmeath upland was a well-observed and perhaps carefully chosen landscape. Beneath the surface, a souterrain was once recorded within the ringfort. A souterrain is an underground stone-built passage or chamber, typically associated with early medieval settlements and used for storage or as a place of refuge. No surface trace of it now remains visible, which is a reminder of how much can vanish without any particular event marking its disappearance.
The site is quiet in the way that many such places are: no signage, no managed access, nothing to announce what is underfoot. The slight earthworks are subtle enough that a visitor crossing the ridge without prior knowledge might pass over them without a second glance. That subtlety is part of what makes the place worth paying attention to.