Ringfort (Rath), Atticoffey, Co. Galway

Co. Galway |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Atticoffey, Co. Galway

On a low ridge in the undulating grassland of north Galway, there is a circular earthwork that repays more attention than its modest appearance might suggest.

What makes it quietly interesting is not its size but its layering. Most ringforts, the enclosed farmsteads of early medieval Ireland typically dating from roughly the fifth to the twelfth centuries, consist of a single bank and ditch. This one has two banks with an intervening fosse, the term for a defensive ditch, and traces of a third bank and second fosse survive beyond those, curving around the north-east, east, and south-east of the enclosure. A site with this degree of multiplication in its defences is sometimes described as multivallate, and such sites were often associated with higher-status occupants than the single-bank norm.

The enclosure itself is roughly 26 metres in diameter and sits in fair condition. A gap of about three metres on the south-east side may represent the original entrance, which at many ringforts was a carefully considered element of the design, sometimes aligned with the rising sun or positioned to allow livestock to be driven in and out with ease. The outer banks and ditches here are set about three metres beyond the main enclosing elements, forming a kind of layered perimeter that would have made the interior harder to approach undetected. Whether the additional earthworks reflect genuine defensive anxiety, social display, or simply a more prosperous farmstead enclosing outbuildings and stock pens is a question the ground alone cannot answer.

The site sits in open grassland on its ridge, which means it is likely visible from a reasonable distance on approach. The south-east entrance gap, if that is indeed what it is, provides the most legible clue to the original layout, and standing there it is possible to trace the outer earthworks as they curve away through the grass.

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