Fort, Reduff, Co. Monaghan

Co. Monaghan |

Ringforts

Fort, Reduff, Co. Monaghan

At Reduff in County Monaghan, an ancient earthwork sits astride a drumlin in a way that is quietly difficult to make sense of.

The drumlin, one of the glacier-deposited oval ridges that define so much of the Monaghan landscape, does not simply sit beneath the fort; it actually rises up through the interior of the monument like a spine, so that the ground inside the enclosure is itself uneven and ridged. It is an unusual relationship between landform and human construction, and one that gives the site a slightly ambiguous character.

The enclosure is subcircular in shape, measuring roughly 39 metres on its longer north-west to south-east axis and 33 metres across. It is defined by an earthen bank, about ten metres wide at its base, which survives to an internal height of around 1.8 metres on the south-east and south sides. On the north-west, where the ground drops away steeply by over four metres, the bank gives way to a natural or reinforced scarp. There is no visible fosse, the term for the external ditch that typically accompanies earthen enclosures of this type, though a narrow flat berm of about 2.4 metres separates the bank from a field wall on the south-east side. No original entrance has been identified, which leaves open the question of how and where people moved in and out. Whether this is a ringfort of early medieval date or something earlier is not recorded, and the scrub and grass cover that now clothes the site obscures whatever surface detail might otherwise help to answer that.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Fort, Reduff, Co. Monaghan. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement