Enclosure, Aughfad, Co. Wexford

Co. Wexford |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Aughfad, Co. Wexford

On a west-facing slope near the southern tip of a ridge running roughly north-northeast to south-southwest in County Wexford, a circular enclosure sits largely out of sight.

It cannot be seen by walking the land. It appears only as a cropmark, a faint ghost in aerial imagery, where the soil and whatever lies beneath it cause the vegetation above to grow differently, betraying the outline of something deliberately made long ago.

The enclosure was first reported by Jean Charles Caillére, and what the aerial data reveals is a circular area roughly 40 metres in diameter, defined by a single fosse. A fosse is simply a ditch, often the most durable part of an early enclosure once any accompanying bank has spread or been ploughed away. Here, part of the original perimeter has been absorbed into a field bank along the southeast to south arc, which is both why the feature has survived at all and why it is so difficult to read on the ground. Within the interior, something in the southwest quadrant may be a pit, though the imagery is not conclusive. The enclosure is visible only through enhanced aerial mapping from 2022, meaning it joins a category of sites that exist in the record without yet existing in any meaningful way in the physical experience of the landscape.

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 Enclosure, Aughfad, Co. Wexford. 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