Lisdonowley, Lisdonowley, Co. Tipperary North

Co. Tipperary |

Castle Features

Lisdonowley, Lisdonowley, Co. Tipperary North

Rising from the flat pastureland of North Tipperary, this remarkable earthwork at Lisdonowley stands as a testament to the engineering skills of our ancestors.

The site consists of a high, flat-topped platform measuring 26 metres across from northeast to southwest, which has been cleverly constructed by modifying a natural glacial hillock. The builders cut through the southwestern side of the hill and used the excavated material to build up the top, creating an impressive raised platform with commanding views across the surrounding countryside.

The platform is enclosed by a complex series of defensive features that would have made this a formidable stronghold. A low bank of earth and stone, now mostly reduced to a scarp between 1.7 and 5 metres high, encircles the platform. Beyond this lies a wide, flat-bottomed ditch or fosse, measuring 5 to 8 metres wide and about a metre deep, followed by an outer bank that stands 2 to 3 metres high on its exterior side and spans 3 to 5 metres in width. Archaeological evidence suggests there may have been a causewayed entrance, approximately 3.1 metres wide, on the southeastern side of the fortification.

This type of earthwork, with its multiple banks and ditches, represents a significant investment of labour and planning by the community that built it. The strategic positioning on elevated ground, combined with the elaborate defensive architecture, suggests this was an important site, possibly serving as a local power centre or refuge. The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary, compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien, provides the detailed measurements and observations that help us understand the impressive scale and complexity of this ancient monument.

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