House - indeterminate date, Kilmaglish, Co. Westmeath

Co. Westmeath |

House

House – indeterminate date, Kilmaglish, Co. Westmeath

On a high ridge in Kilmaglish, County Westmeath, a low grassy mound sits quietly within the enclosure of an ancient ringfort.

It measures roughly 12.5 metres north to south, 11.5 metres east to west, and rises only half a metre above the surrounding ground. That modest rise is thought to represent the collapsed remains of a house, though when exactly anyone lived there remains unknown.

Ringforts, which are circular enclosures typically defined by an earthen bank and ditch, were the most common form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, generally associated with the period between about 500 and 1200 AD. Finding what appears to be a house site within the western quadrant of one such enclosure, identified as WM012-112, is not unusual in itself; domestic structures inside ringforts are well documented across the country. What gives this particular spot a quieter kind of interest is its setting. The fort sits on the summit of a pronounced ridge, with wide views across undulating grassland in every direction, and another ringfort, WM012-111, lies only 150 metres to the north-north-west. That proximity suggests this was once a reasonably populated stretch of landscape, with at least two enclosed settlements positioned within easy sight of one another on the same elevated ground.

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Pete F
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