Enclosure, Eanty More, Co. Clare
Co. Clare |
Enclosures
In a field in Eanty More, County Clare, a roughly oval enclosure sits within a landscape that has been shaped and reshaped across many centuries.
The enclosure measures approximately 56 metres north to south and 50 metres east to west, defined by a stone wall that may itself have been raised on the foundations of something older. Aerial photography has suggested the presence of an earlier wall beneath, a detail that is easy to overlook when the structure presents itself as simply another boundary in the Irish countryside.
What makes the site particularly interesting is its position within a large multiperiod field system, meaning the surrounding land carries the accumulated marks of different eras of settlement and land use, layered one upon another. The enclosure does not stand in isolation. A cashel lies roughly 30 metres to the north-east; a cashel being a stone-walled circular or oval enclosure of early medieval date, typically associated with a farmstead or small settlement. A second enclosure sits approximately 18 metres to the south-east. Together, these features suggest that this corner of Clare was once a more densely organised and inhabited place than its present quiet pasture implies. The slope faces south-east, which would have made it a practical choice for early farmers seeking shelter and light, and the clustering of enclosures around a shared area points to a community that made considered use of the terrain over a long period.
