What is recorded here

Cooltedery in County Laois holds a forgotten double castle where two mottes faced each other across a narrow neck, perhaps forcing every invading army to choose which threat to attack first. The land swallowed the stones, but the shape still belongs to human ambition: a small violent idea about how to keep another small violent idea at bay. Martin Byrne probed that buried chamber in 2003, opening a quiet conversation with the people who first believed they could be remembered through geography.

Marked on the 1841 edition of the OS 6-inch map as a subcircular enclosure (diam. c. 40m NW-SE) enclosing two smaller enclosures at NW and SE; posibly a double motte and bailey. No surface remains. Area adjacent to motte was archaeologically tested bv Martin Byrne in 2003 under licence no. 03E1413 The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.