Ring-ditch, Skidoo, Co. Dublin

Co. Dublin |

Ritual/Ceremonial

Ring-ditch, Skidoo, Co. Dublin

A field on a south-facing slope near the Broadmeadow river, not far from Swords in north County Dublin, contains something that is entirely invisible to anyone walking across it.

What lies beneath the surface only becomes legible from above, and only under the right conditions: a ring-ditch, a type of prehistoric funerary or ritual enclosure defined by one or more circular ditches, which shows up as a cropmark when the soil's moisture and nutrient differences cause the grass or grain above old earthworks to grow at a slightly different rate to the surrounding field. The result, visible in aerial photography, is a ghostly circle pressed into the landscape like a watermark.

This particular example was first identified by Tom Condit from a Google Earth image dated 12 July 2013. What he spotted was a bivallate cropmark, meaning it has two concentric rings rather than one. The inner enclosure measures roughly 18 metres in diameter on a north-south axis, while the outer ring extends to approximately 32 metres across. The inner circuit is the more clearly defined of the two. The monument does not sit in isolation; it is one of a cluster of three related monuments identified on southward and south-eastward facing slopes within the same large field, with the other two lying to the north-west and west-south-west respectively. Archaeological testing carried out in the area is documented in an unpublished 2014 report by A. O'Connell for Archer Heritage Planning, produced under licence number 14E0142 and relating to work at Balheary Avenue in Swords.

The site is on private agricultural land, and the monument itself is, practically speaking, invisible at ground level. There is nothing to see underfoot, and no marker to indicate what lies beneath. The best and most honest way to experience this place is through the aerial record, where the concentric rings emerge with quiet clarity. Hedgerows to the north and east limit sightlines in those directions, but the views opening southward and westward across the Broadmeadow river valley are broad and uninterrupted. For anyone interested in the invisible archaeology of the Dublin hinterland, the real revelation here is not any physical feature but the reminder that ordinary-looking farmland in this part of Ireland can carry, just below the plough layer, the outlines of monuments that predate almost everything else we can see.

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 Ring-ditch, Skidoo, Co. Dublin. 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