Field system, Ballyslatteen, Co. Tipperary

Co. Tipperary |

Ritual/Ceremonial

Field system, Ballyslatteen, Co. Tipperary

At Ballyslatteen in County Tipperary, two circular enclosures lie buried beneath agricultural fields, invisible at ground level but legible from above as ghostly outlines pressed into the crops.

This kind of trace, known as a cropmark, appears when buried ditches or banks affect the growth rate of whatever is planted overhead, producing subtle differences in colour or height that only become readable from altitude, particularly in dry summers when the contrast sharpens. The northern of the two enclosures measures roughly fifty metres in diameter, the southern around thirty, and both are defined by a fosse, that is, a ditch cut into the earth, whose outline survives in the soil long after the original surface features have gone.

The site was identified and reported by Jean-Charles Caillère, who spotted the enclosures on satellite imagery. Beyond the two circular forms, linear cropmarks trail away to the south-west, suggesting the remnants of a broader field system laid out across this part of the townland. Whether these field boundaries belonged to the same period of activity as the enclosures is not yet clear, and the relationship becomes more complicated by the presence of a separate enclosure recorded roughly a hundred metres to the south-west. The three elements, the two curvilinear enclosures, the linear field traces, and that nearby monument, may be parts of a single organised landscape, or they may represent different phases of settlement laid one over another across centuries. Without excavation, the question stays open.

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 Field system, Ballyslatteen, Co. Tipperary. 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