Ringfort (Rath), Ballinroe, Co. Cork

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Ballinroe, Co. Cork

In a pasture on an east-facing slope in Ballinroe, County Cork, a broad circular patch of ground betrays the ghost of something much older.

Slightly raised above the surrounding field, it measures roughly 44 metres north to south and just over 46 metres east to west, making it a substantial example of a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, which was typically a farmstead enclosed by an earthen bank, used throughout the early medieval period as a defended homestead for a single family or small community.

What survives today is considerably reduced from its original form. The enclosing bank, which would once have been a prominent earthen rampart, has been almost completely levelled and now rises no more than 0.65 metres above the interior. An external fosse, the ditch dug to provide material for the bank and to add a further obstacle to any approach, still runs from the north-west to the south-east, reaching a depth of around 0.8 metres. A break in the bank on the eastern side is likely the original entrance, a feature common to ringforts of this type, where the gap would have been controlled by a wooden gate or fence. Inside, the ground is largely level, though the north-west quadrant is raised slightly, hinting at the possibility of internal activity or structural remains beneath the surface.

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Pete F
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