Ringfort (Rath), Creaghduff, Co. Westmeath
Co. Westmeath |
Ringforts
What looks, at first glance, like an ordinary field boundary on a gentle slope in County Westmeath is, on closer inspection, the last legible traces of an early medieval ringfort.
The give-away is the subtle curve of the bank, the way it bends in a broad arc rather than following the straight logic of a farm boundary. Indeed, part of the original earthwork has been absorbed into exactly that kind of boundary, which is one reason the monument has been so thoroughly worn into the landscape.
Recorded in surveys carried out in 1971 and 1976, the site is described as a subcircular enclosure measuring roughly 40.5 metres north to south and 37.5 metres east to west, enclosed by the remnants of a low earthen bank that survives along its western, northern, and eastern arcs. Ringforts, known in Irish as raths when formed from earth rather than stone, were the standard enclosed farmsteads of early medieval Ireland, typically dating from around the fifth to the twelfth century. A fosse, the external ditch that would normally accompany the bank, leaves no definite trace here, and the original entrance has been lost entirely. At some point, a modern stone wall was built against the scarp on its south-eastern to western side, further complicating the picture of what the original form looked like. What gives the site genuine depth, however, is the presence of a souterrain within its western quadrant. A souterrain is an underground stone-lined passage or chamber, built beneath ringfort enclosures, most likely for storage and possibly as a place of refuge. The site sits on an east-facing slope in pasture, with views across to Coosan Lough to the east and south, which hints at the practical reasoning of whoever chose this particular spot, likely more than a thousand years ago.