Ringfort (Rath), Lecarrow, Co. Sligo
Co. Sligo |
Ringforts
On the south-eastern slope of Red Hill in County Sligo, a roughly circular enclosure sits quietly in the landscape, its edges so worn that in places the perimeter has dissolved into the field boundaries around it.
This is a rath, the Irish term for an earthen ringfort, a type of enclosed settlement built primarily during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Most were farmsteads belonging to free farming families, and thousands once dotted the Irish countryside. The Lecarrow example, measuring approximately 32 metres north to south and 31 metres east to west, is modest in scale and considerably reduced by time and agricultural activity.
What makes the site quietly interesting is not what remains standing but what its surviving traces reveal about the original design. The enclosing bank, now between one and two and a half metres wide, is in poor condition, and in several stretches only a line of boulders survives, likely the remnants of a kerb that once defined the outer edge. There is no fosse, the term for the ditch that typically accompanied earthen ringfort banks, and the original entrance has been lost entirely. Inside, the ground slopes from west to east, and two low scarps cut across the interior, marking distinct changes in ground level. The more sharply defined of the two, on the western side, reaches about 0.6 metres in height and is revetted with large stones and boulders, curving in a shallow arc to define a level central area of roughly 15 metres by 10 metres. A broader, less distinct scarp sits to the east of this feature. At the southern end of the enclosure a portion has been cut away, and nearby a small stone-defined hollow adds another layer of ambiguity to what the interior once contained.