Enclosure, Beech Hill, Co. Galway

Co. Galway |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Beech Hill, Co. Galway

In a field at Beech Hill in County Galway, a circular earthen bank quietly holds its shape in the grass, sixteen metres across and largely swallowed by overgrowth.

It is the kind of feature that a passing walker might dismiss as a natural rise in the ground, yet it represents a form of enclosure found throughout early medieval Ireland, typically built to define a farmstead or dwelling place and to mark a social boundary as much as a physical one.

Within the interior of this enclosure sits a cashel, boulder burial, or similar recorded feature, catalogued separately in the archaeological record, which suggests the site was once a more complex arrangement than the grassy ring visible today. A second enclosure lies roughly two hundred metres to the north, hinting that this corner of north Galway may have supported a small cluster of activity at some point in the past, though the precise date and nature of either site remains unclear from what survives on the ground.

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, Beech Hill, Co. Galway. 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