Enclosure, Cor, Co. Cavan

Co. Cavan |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Cor, Co. Cavan

In a flat, low-lying stretch of County Cavan, a near-perfect circle of grass sits on a slight rise, its outline betraying something deliberate and very old beneath the turf.

Roughly 22 metres across, the circular earthwork is defined by what appears to be an earthen bank and an external fosse, the fosse being a defensive ditch dug around the perimeter of an enclosure, a feature common to prehistoric and early medieval Irish settlement sites. The surrounding terrain makes it quietly conspicuous; while the land around it stays flat, this small rise holds its shape, and the geometry of the enclosure, however softened by time, remains legible from above.

The site sits approximately 90 metres east of a canalised stream running north to south, and the relict channels of an older, unmodified watercourse are still visible nearby, suggesting the stream has been altered at some point, and that the enclosure was originally positioned beside a natural waterway rather than an engineered one. The pairing of a raised, bounded enclosure with proximity to water is a recurring pattern in Irish archaeology, and the slight elevation would have kept the interior clear of flooding in an otherwise wet landscape. The site was first reported by Jean Charles Caillére, and while it does not appear prominently in older records, aerial and satellite imagery, particularly captures taken between 2007 and 2012, reveal the earthwork with reasonable clarity, the circular form showing up as a tonal and textural contrast against the surrounding fields.

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Pete F
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