Ringfort (Rath), Shanid Lower, Co. Limerick
Co. Limerick |
Ringforts
On a low hillock in the pastureland of Shanid Lower, a roughly circular earthwork sits quietly in a field, easy to walk past without quite registering what it is.
The outline, some 33.5 metres across, is defined not by a visible wall but by a scarped edge, where the ground has been deliberately cut away to create a steep drop around the perimeter. Outside that scarp runs a fosse, a defensive ditch, still measurable at around 1.8 metres wide, though now quite shallow. It is the kind of monument that rewards a second look.
This is a rath, the most common type of ringfort found across Ireland, typically dating from the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Ringforts served as enclosed farmsteads, the circular earthworks providing both a degree of physical protection and a visible marker of a family's status in the landscape. The scarp here survives to a height of around two metres at its best-preserved point on the south-eastern side, narrowing and dropping considerably as it curves round to the south-west. A counterscarp bank, a low ridge thrown up on the outside of the ditch, remains faintly visible at the north-north-west, adding a further layer to what was once a more formidable boundary. The survey was compiled by Denis Power and uploaded in August 2011.
The interior slopes gently downward towards the south-east, and while the western half is now choked with briars and the verges are similarly overgrown, the central ground is rough pasture, reasonably open underfoot. The site sits on working farmland, so any visit would require permission from the landowner. The earthworks are subtle enough that the south-eastern scarp, where the height is greatest, is the most instructive place to stand and get a sense of the original engineering. Early morning or low winter light tends to throw the contours of earthworks like this into sharper relief, making the relationship between the scarp, the fosse, and the surrounding ground considerably easier to read.