Enclosure, Creeveroe, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Enclosures
In the townland of Creeveroe in County Clare, an enclosure sits in the landscape, recorded and classified but largely unspoken for.
Enclosures of this kind, broad terms in Irish archaeology that cover everything from the circular earthen ringforts of the early medieval period to earlier prehistoric boundary features, are among the most common monument types in the country, yet individual examples regularly slip beneath the attention of anyone but specialists. The fact that this one carries a formal designation without a detailed public record only adds to its quiet anonymity.
Creeveroe is a small townland in Clare, a county whose archaeology ranges from the megalithic monuments of the Burren to the medieval tower houses scattered across its lowlands and coastal margins. Without more specific detail on record, the enclosure's date and function remain open questions. It may be a ringfort, the remains of a defended farmstead from the early medieval period, typically consisting of a roughly circular bank and ditch enclosing a domestic area. It may be something older. Clare's soils and fields contain traces of occupation stretching back thousands of years, and many enclosures that appear unremarkable on the surface have yielded evidence of long and layered use when examined closely.