Enclosure, Cloghacloka, Co. Limerick

Co. Limerick |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Cloghacloka, Co. Limerick

In a patch of gently undulating marshy pasture in County Limerick, an oval earthwork sits largely unnoticed, its edges softened by encroaching scrub and its purpose unannounced by any signage or obvious path.

What makes it quietly curious is how unremarkable it appears at first glance, and yet how deliberate it clearly is: someone, at some point, went to considerable trouble to shape this ground into something purposeful.

The enclosure at Cloghacloka measures roughly 22 metres north to south and 10 metres east to west, defined by a scarped edge, meaning the ground has been deliberately cut or built up to create a low, defined boundary, here about 1.6 metres wide and standing just 0.4 metres high. The interior is scattered with small rocks. An enclosure of this type is a broad category in Irish archaeology, covering a range of functions: they could serve as settlement platforms, stock enclosures, or ceremonial spaces, and without excavation it is rarely possible to say which. This particular example was recorded by Denis Power and uploaded to the national record in May 2013, positioned approximately five metres west of an existing field boundary. That proximity to a later boundary is itself a small detail worth noting; landscapes in Ireland were layered over centuries, and earlier earthworks were frequently absorbed into, or simply ignored by, the field systems that followed them.

The monument is heavily masked by scrub vegetation, which means that even standing a short distance away it can be difficult to read its shape clearly. The scarped edge is the clearest indicator of what you are looking at; walking the perimeter, even partially, gives a better sense of the oval form than approaching it from a single point. Marshy ground in this part of Limerick can be waterlogged at certain times of year, so visiting in drier summer months makes the approach more manageable. There is no formal access or visitor infrastructure, and the site sits within agricultural land, so any visit would require both care and appropriate permission.

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, Cloghacloka, Co. Limerick. 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