Ringfort (Rath), Carrowliam Beg, Co. Mayo
Co. Mayo |
Ringforts
Sitting atop an east-west ridge in the pastureland of Carrowliam Beg, this ringfort occupies what was clearly a deliberate vantage point, commanding good views in every direction.
That positioning is no accident. A rath, as this type of monument is commonly known, is a roughly circular enclosure defined by an earthen bank and ditch, used as a farmstead or defended homestead during the early medieval period in Ireland. What makes this particular example quietly interesting is the way centuries of change have left their marks on a structure that is, at its core, probably well over a thousand years old.
The enclosure is nearly circular, measuring just over 26 metres east to west and just under 26 metres north to south. Its boundary is formed by a pronounced scarp, a steep drop of between 1.5 and 1.8 metres down to the surrounding ground level, topped by a low earth and stone bank that reaches about a metre on the exterior face. Much of this bank is sod-covered today, though internal stone facing is still visible in places. According to local knowledge, the wall was built up or substantially refaced sometime in the first half of the twentieth century, meaning the boundary visitors see now is partly a relatively recent intervention laid over something far older. The original entrance, now blocked, was on the east side, where the scarp is at its lowest and aligns naturally with the slope of the ridge. Inside the enclosure, the ground is level, and faint parallel ridges running north to south are still visible, the remnants of old cultivation beds. There is also said to be a souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage typically used for storage or refuge, located in the south-west quadrant of the interior, though it is not visible at surface level.