Ringfort (Rath), Knockadaumore, Co. Galway

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Knockadaumore, Co. Galway

Sitting in low-lying pastureland in County Galway, this ringfort gives the impression of rising out of the ground in a way that seems almost deliberate, even theatrical.

The internal ground level is elevated, and the inner bank stands considerably higher than the outer one, so the whole structure presents itself with an unexpectedly raised profile for what is, by the standards of Irish prehistoric and early medieval enclosures, a modestly sized example. Ringforts, or raths, are among the most common archaeological monuments in Ireland, typically dating from the early medieval period and serving as enclosed farmsteads for a single family or small community. Most read as subtle undulations in a field. This one asserts itself a little more.

The rath at Knockadaumore is roughly circular, measuring about 35 metres in diameter, and is defined by two concentric earthen banks with a fosse, or ditch, running between them. That fosse, some 1.7 metres wide, was only clearly legible at the north-western side when recorded, the rest presumably obscured by the accumulation of vegetation and time. The inner bank reaches an exterior height of around 1.8 metres, noticeably more substantial than the outer bank's 0.95 metres. McCaffrey noted the site in 1952, and the double-bank arrangement suggests this was a bivallate rath, a form sometimes associated with higher-status occupants in early medieval Ireland, though the evidence at Knockadaumore is not detailed enough to say more than that with confidence. The monument was recorded as being in fair condition, densely overgrown, and hemmed in by later field boundaries on all sides.

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