Enclosure, Umrygar, Co. Wicklow

Co. Wicklow |

Enclosures

Enclosure, Umrygar, Co. Wicklow

In a pasture field in County Wicklow, a low earthwork traces an oval shape in the ground that most people would walk across without a second thought.

It rises no more than about twenty centimetres above the surrounding grass, spreads to a width of roughly five metres, and encloses an area measuring approximately forty-five metres on its longer axis and forty metres on the shorter. Easy to miss, easy to dismiss, and yet clearly the deliberate work of human hands.

Enclosures of this kind are among the more quietly puzzling features of the Irish landscape. The term covers a broad range of earthworks, from the substantial ringforts that served as defended farmsteads through the early medieval period to boundaries whose original purpose remains genuinely uncertain. The one at Umrygar falls at the modest end of the scale. Its oval plan and the relatively slight dimensions of its bank suggest age and erosion, centuries of ploughing, grazing, and weather gradually softening whatever profile it once had. What happened inside it, and when, remains unrecorded.

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, Umrygar, Co. Wicklow. 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