Ringfort (Rath), Curry, Co. Mayo

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Curry, Co. Mayo

On a gently east-facing slope in rough pasture near Curry in County Mayo, a circular earthwork sits quietly beneath heavy vegetation, its original purpose long since overtaken by grass and scrub.

The raised area measures roughly 33 metres north to south and 34 metres east to west, enclosed by an earthen bank still standing to about 1.5 metres in height. That the bank survives at all, after centuries of agricultural use, is itself notable.

This is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, a type of enclosed farmstead that was the most common form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically dating from around the sixth to the twelfth century. Thousands survive across the country in varying states of preservation. This example retains a clear break in the bank on the east-north-east side, roughly 3.7 metres wide, which would have served as the original entrance. More intriguing is a possible souterrain in the south-east of the enclosure. A souterrain is an underground stone-lined passage or chamber, usually associated with ringforts and thought to have been used for storage or, in times of danger, as a place of refuge. Whether this one remains intact or accessible is uncertain. A second ringfort lies to the north-east of the site, suggesting that this part of the Mayo landscape was once a more populated and organised farming territory than its present quietness implies.

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Pete F
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