Ringfort (Rath), Ardarragh, Co. Cavan
Co. Cavan |
Ringforts
What gives this ringfort at Ardarragh its particular character is the inner bank.
At 8.4 metres wide, it is not the sort of earthwork that was thrown up casually. Most raths, the earthen enclosures that served as farmsteads and occasionally as minor lordly residences across early medieval Ireland, rely on a single bank and ditch to mark their boundary. This one has two substantial earthen banks, each paired with an outer fosse, a defensive ditch, and the inner of those banks is broad enough to suggest either considerable labour investment or a site whose occupants had good reason to build solidly.
The enclosure itself is roughly circular, measuring around 40 metres across in both directions, which places it at the larger end of the ordinary rath spectrum without quite reaching the scale of a royal site. The original entrance faced east, a common orientation in Irish ringfort construction, possibly reflecting practical concerns about morning light and prevailing weather, or simply a long-standing convention. Over time the outer bank and fosse have been absorbed into the surrounding field boundary system, a fate that has softened and obscured many Irish earthworks as agricultural land has been reorganised across the centuries. The inner bank, however, has survived in a condition substantial enough to be measured and described with some confidence.