Ringfort (Rath), Gortnacrusha, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Gortnacrusha, Co. Cork

There is nothing to see at Gortnacrusha, and that, in a way, is precisely what makes it worth knowing about.

A ringfort once stood here in tillage ground in County Cork, a roughly circular earthen enclosure around thirty-five metres across, of the kind built throughout Ireland during the early medieval period as a defended farmstead for a family of some local standing. It has been levelled entirely, leaving no ridge, no dip, no trace above the soil. And yet the field fence curves. Someone, at some point, chose to align a boundary to follow the ghost of that enclosure, a small act of accommodation that outlasted the monument itself.

The rath appeared clearly on the Ordnance Survey six-inch map of 1842, drawn as a circular enclosure. By the time the 1902 edition was surveyed, the cartographers recorded only an arc of hachures running east to west, suggesting the earthwork had already been substantially reduced by that point. Beneath the ground, there may be more. A possible souterrain is associated with the site, one of those narrow underground stone-lined passages built in early Christian Ireland, most likely for storage or refuge. Whether it survives intact below the plough layer is unknown, but its presence would be consistent with a settlement of this type, where the subterranean element often outlasts everything built above it.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Ringfort (Rath), Gortnacrusha, Co. Cork. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement