Ringfort (Rath), Cuilmore, Co. Mayo

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Cuilmore, Co. Mayo

A low circle of earthwork rising from pasture in Cuilmore, County Mayo, this ringfort, or rath, is the kind of feature that a casual walker might cross without quite registering what lies underfoot.

A rath is an early medieval enclosure, typically dating from roughly the fifth to the twelfth century, built to define a farmstead and its associated livestock. Most were constructed from earth and timber rather than stone, which is why so many have softened over the centuries into little more than gentle rises and shallow scarps in the grass.

This particular example sits on a natural rise, with the ground falling away to the north-north-west and north-east, overlooking a small stream valley and a wide expanse of bog beyond. The enclosure is roughly circular, measuring about 26.6 metres north to south and 25.7 metres east to west, and what survives is a low earthen platform defined by a bank that has been substantially reduced over time. On the south-south-east to north-east arc, the bank still reads in the landscape, though its interior height is only around 0.35 metres and its exterior no more than 0.65 metres at its highest. On the east to south-east side, a broad gap of roughly 14 metres marks where the bank has been levelled entirely, most likely through agricultural clearance. On the south-west to northern arc, outside the bank, there is a low terrace or berm, its outer edge defined by a scarp rising to about 1.2 metres on the western side. These earthworks are thought to be the degraded remains of a fosse, which is a defensive ditch, and a now largely vanished external bank. A small quarry pit, around five metres across, cuts into the northern edge and has truncated those outer features. The interior is grass-covered, with a clump of hawthorn at the north-west, and the whole perimeter is edged with hawthorn trees, a planting pattern strongly associated with ringforts across Ireland, where such trees were traditionally left standing out of respect or superstition.

The hawthorn fringe is perhaps the most immediately legible feature for anyone approaching across the pasture, its ring of trees tracing the old enclosure boundary even where the earthworks themselves have been worn nearly flat.

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Pete F
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