Designed landscape feature in Raflacony

Situated on top of a drumlin. The central feature is a rath (MO001-006----) which is within a larger enclosure (diam. c. 100-105m), that is defined by field banks with an entrance at S. Both the rath and surrounding enclosure are in mixed woodland. The outer enclosure is large enough to be considered a hilltop enclosure, but it is 1.25 km SW of the SW tip of a large landscape design known as ‘the Thistle’ (TY060-042), just W of Aughancloy village, for which see this page of the Northern Ireland SMR database accessed on 23/06/2017: http://appsc.doeni.gov.uk/ambit/Details.aspx?MonID=14768 The Thistle was designed after 1722 by Acheson Moore, a jacobite, as a symbol of his political sympathies. Three other hilltop enclosures in Co. Monaghan are between 1 and 2 km from the SW tip of the Thistle, and together with four other large enclosures in Co. Tyrone could have been designed to enhance the Thistle as outlying rosettes. The equally large enclosure at Dromore (MO001-004----) is c. 750m to the NW and the large enclosure at Skinaheergna is (MO003-050----) is c. 800m to the SE. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 25 July, 2017