Ringfort (Cashel), Iskancullin, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Cashel), Iskancullin, Co. Clare

What makes this small cashel at Iskancullin genuinely odd is not its age but what was built on top of it.

A later rectangular drystone structure, roughly five metres by three and a half, has been constructed directly over the western exterior of the cashel wall, its own ENE wall apparently rising from, or at least obscuring, the original outer face of the earlier enclosure. At the base of that later wall sit three lintelled alcoves, their square openings about half a metre across but widening inward to a depth of nearly two metres. Their purpose is not recorded, though the form suggests storage of some kind. The whole thing presents a layered puzzle in stone, one period of occupation folded into another without much ceremony.

A cashel is a ringfort defined by a stone wall rather than an earthen bank, and this one sits at the eastern edge of a plateau in the Burren's characteristic karst limestone, with open views stretching east to south-west. It is a modest structure, subcircular in plan and measuring roughly 22.5 metres north to south and 21.25 metres east to west. Its stony bank survives to only about 0.6 metres externally, though sections of a roughly vertical outer wall-face remain visible from the north-east around to the west-north-west. In the north-east interior, adjacent to the cashel wall, there is a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage or chamber typically associated with early medieval settlement, used for storage or refuge. The cashel sits within a large multiperiod field system, and another enclosure lies roughly 186 metres to the north-east, suggesting this was once a worked and organised landscape over a considerable span of time. The site appeared on Ordnance Survey six-inch maps in both 1842 and 1920, marked with hachuring that indicates an earthwork or enclosure. About five metres to the north of the cashel, a small vegetation-covered stone clearance mound, five metres across and about 0.4 metres high, speaks to generations of hands working the rocky ground around it.

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 Ringfort (Cashel), Iskancullin, Co. Clare. 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