Enclosure (Large), Glashare, Co. Kilkenny

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Enclosures

Enclosure (Large), Glashare, Co. Kilkenny

In the grasslands of the Goul river valley in County Kilkenny, a large oval platform rises almost imperceptibly from the surrounding ground.

It is easy to walk past without noticing it, yet the earthwork that defines its edge represents a deliberate human intervention in this landscape, at some point sufficiently distant that nobody recorded the reason.

The enclosure stretches roughly 76 metres on its longest axis, running northeast to southwest, and narrows to about 24 metres at its northeastern end, giving the whole thing a slightly tapering oval shape. The enclosing bank is modest by any measure, standing only around 0.4 metres above the external ground surface and dropping to little more than a tenth of a metre on the interior, but it is wide and clearly intentional. Earthen enclosures of this kind are a feature of the Irish countryside from the prehistoric period through to the early medieval, and while the term "enclosure" covers a broad range of functions, large examples in open valley positions are sometimes associated with communal or ritual use rather than simple domestic settlement. The site sits well above the flood plain of the Goul river, on ground that offers views in every direction, which may or may not have been a consideration for whoever shaped this place.

The bank is slight enough that its full outline is best appreciated from a distance or in low, raking winter light, when shadows pick out the gentle rise of the earthwork against the pasture.

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Pete F
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