Ringfort (Rath), Kilcommon More, Co. Tipperary
Co. Tipperary |
Ringforts
What makes this particular rath in Kilcommon More quietly unusual is that it does not stand alone.
Rather than the solitary enclosure that most ringforts present to the modern eye, this one is physically joined to a second ringfort, sharing part of its bank so that the two structures form a conjoined pair. This kind of arrangement is known in Ireland but far from common, and it raises questions that the landscape itself does not easily answer: whether the two enclosures were built at the same time, by related households, or whether one was added later to accommodate a growing community or a division of landholding.
A ringfort, or rath, is an enclosed farmstead of the early medieval period, roughly the fifth to twelfth centuries, typically defined by one or more earthen banks thrown up around a circular living area. The example at Kilcommon More sits on relatively flat ground in gently undulating pasture. Its shape is not quite the regular circle most people associate with ringforts; it is roughly oval or triangular, measuring approximately 34.6 metres north to south and around 45 metres east to west. The enclosing earthen bank survives to a modest height, about 0.8 metres on the exterior, with a crest width of 1.3 metres and a base of 3.5 metres. The eastern side runs at a distinct angle, northeast to southwest, giving the fort its slightly irregular outline. There is a gap in the bank at the southeast quadrant and a formal entrance, nearly five metres wide, cut into the northeast sector. It is at this entrance that the bank continues outward in a northeasterly direction to become the northwestern boundary of the conjoined ringfort beside it, the two enclosures sharing their infrastructure at precisely the point where one ends and the other begins.
The interior today is dense with dead nettles and scrub, and the bank itself is similarly overgrown, particularly in the southeast where vegetation obscures much of the fabric. A modern field bank follows the line of the monument along its northern and eastern edges, a reminder of how thoroughly early medieval boundaries were incorporated into later agricultural landscapes, the old enclosures quietly shaping field divisions that have persisted for centuries after their original purpose was forgotten.