Cromwells Battery

Situated on top of Gun Hill, it is described in gothic lettering as ‘Cromwell’s Battery’ on the OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a raised rectangular and grass-covered platform (dims 45m NW-SE; 23m NE-SW) defined by scarps (H 1m at SW to 2.5m at NE). The scarp of its NW edge continues S accompanied by slight traces of an outer fosse while curving E until it is truncated by a N-S field bank and double ditch (total Wth c. 10m) that also cuts through the platform. The curving scarp (H 1.4m) with an entrance gap (Wth 8m) at one point creates a D-shaped enclosure (dims 92m N-S; 28m E-W) with the N-S field bank. The rectangular platform may have been a gun-platform commanding the road from Athboy to Ardee which ran through Siddan. Archaeological monitoring (99E0725) of the removal of a pole produced no related material (Russell 2000, 2002). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 26 October 2018 Amended: 15 December 2022

Cromwell's Battery is a fairy fort (ringfort/rath) located on Gun Hill, likely dating to the early medieval period. While the name suggests a 17th-century military connection, the structure is more probably an ancient hilltop enclosure, possibly associated with local folklore of fairy realms or ancient settlements.