Ringfort (Rath), Clonrobin, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Clonrobin, Co. Cork

On a west-facing slope in Clonrobin, a barely perceptible rise in a pasture field is all that remains of what was once a fully enclosed ringfort.

The circular earthwork, roughly thirty metres across, survives only in part: an earthen bank, rising about 1.4 metres on its outer face and 0.65 metres on the interior, runs from the south-south-east around to the west-north-west, while the rest of the circuit has been reduced to a low scarp, barely distinguishable from the slope around it. What bank does survive has long since been absorbed into the local field boundary system, its prehistoric purpose quietly repurposed as a modern fence line.

Ringforts, also called raths, were the most common form of enclosed settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically consisting of a circular area defined by one or more earthen banks and ditches, used as a farmstead or place of protection. The Clonrobin example was recorded in 1934 by Bowman, who described it as a single-ramparted fort with a diameter of around thirty-two yards, situated on land belonging to a Mr Clifford. Even then, only fifteen yards of the circuit remained clearly standing, suggesting that the gradual dismantling of the bank had been underway for some time. An additional curiosity appears on the 1842 Ordnance Survey six-inch map, which marks a lime kiln inside the west-north-west section of the bank. A lime kiln was a small stone structure used to burn limestone into quicklime for agricultural use, and it was not uncommon for the sheltered interior of a ruined ringfort to be pressed into such secondary uses. No surface trace of this kiln is now visible. A rectangular enclosure of uncertain character lies approximately one hundred metres to the north, hinting that the landscape around Clonrobin held more structured activity than the surviving earthworks alone suggest.

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 (Rath), Clonrobin, Co. Cork. 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