Ringfort (Rath), Keeloges (Coshlea By.), Co. Limerick

Co. Limerick |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Keeloges (Coshlea By.), Co. Limerick

A ringfort that appears to shift shape depending on which map you consult is not the most common archival puzzle, but that is precisely what this site in Keeloges, in the barony of Coshlea in County Limerick, presents.

Recorded on the 1840 edition of the Ordnance Survey Ireland six-inch map as a sunken, circular enclosure defined by a bank, it had transformed, at least on paper, into a raised oval by the time the 1897 twenty-five-inch edition was produced. Whether that shift reflects genuine changes to the earthwork over the intervening decades, a difference in surveying method, or simply the natural settling and erosion of an ancient structure is not entirely clear. What is consistent across both surveys is that the site exists, that it sits in pasture, and that later field boundaries, almost certainly post-1700 in origin, have been driven straight through it, cutting across the interior at the north-east, south-west, and east.

Ringforts, sometimes called raths when they are earthen rather than stone-built, are the most common archaeological monument type in Ireland, with tens of thousands recorded across the island. They date broadly from the early medieval period, roughly the fifth to twelfth centuries, and functioned primarily as enclosed farmsteads, the bank and internal area providing a degree of security for a family and their livestock. The Keeloges example sits approximately fifty metres east of the townland boundary with Ardrahin, and it is not an isolated feature in the landscape. Two further enclosures have been recorded nearby, one lying eighty metres to the south-west and another just twenty-two metres to the south-east, suggesting this corner of Coshlea supported a cluster of activity over an extended period. The approximate dimensions recorded on the later Ordnance Survey map, around twenty-nine metres north to south and forty metres east to west, indicate a modest but not insignificant enclosure.

The site lies in working farmland, so access is not guaranteed without landowner permission, and the earthwork itself is now tree-covered, as aerial and satellite imagery from the Digital Globe and Google Earth platforms captured between roughly 2011 and 2013 confirms. That canopy of trees, while obscuring the structure from casual ground-level inspection, actually helps to preserve the underlying archaeology by reducing the impact of ploughing and livestock pressure on the bank. A visitor looking carefully from the field edge, particularly in winter when leaf cover thins, may make out the curve of the scarp where the bank has been reduced over centuries, and the points where the post-1700 field boundaries bisect what was once a continuous enclosure.

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), Keeloges (Coshlea By.), Co. Limerick. 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