Ringfort (Rath), Killeennagallive, Co. Tipperary

Co. Tipperary |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Killeennagallive, Co. Tipperary

Only half a ringfort survives at Killeennagallive in County Tipperary, and that fact alone makes it worth a moment's attention.

At some point after the site was built, a field bank was driven straight through it along a roughly west-northwest to east-southeast line, and the northern half of the enclosure was subsequently removed entirely. What remains is a semi-circular arc of earthwork, sitting on a gentle slope that faces north-northwest, surrounded by working tillage land.

Ringforts, known in Irish as raths, were the most common form of rural settlement in early medieval Ireland, typically enclosing a farmstead with a circular bank and ditch. The surviving portion at Killeennagallive preserves the southern arc of just such an arrangement. The earthen scarp, which stands around 1.6 metres high and roughly 3 metres wide, is still steep-sided, and beyond it lies an external fosse, a defensive ditch, measuring about 5 metres across and dropping to a depth of just over 1.5 metres. Along the western edge where the field bank cut through, even the scarp and fosse have been cleared away, leaving only a faint, irregular rise in the ground to suggest where the full circuit once ran. The original entrance has not survived in any recognisable form. The interior, what is left of it, undulates unevenly across its roughly 14 by 26 metre extent and carries no significant overgrowth, so the earthworks read clearly against the surrounding farmland.

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), Killeennagallive, Co. Tipperary. 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