What is recorded here

Rainestown in County Carlow, Ireland, holds a conjoined landscape of circular and rectangular enclosures stretching from northwest to southeast. Double fosses cut through the earth beside an associated field system extending south, creating a complex shape visible only when crops reveal its hidden lines. The land may have supported dense human activity before forgetting the names of its builders.

Aerial photograph (GB89.AG.26) shows cropmark of a complex landscape comprising conjoined circular and rectangular enclosures and an associated field system. The enclosures extend from NW to SE and consist of a large but incomplete circular enclosure defined by two concentric fosses (inner fosse visible as complete on aerial photograph GB20.GL.31) (CW003-024002-); a large circular enclosure defined by two concentric widely spaced fosses (CW003-024003-); an incomplete rectilinear enclosure (with rounded corners) defined by two fosses (CW003-024004-); an incomplete rectangular enclosure defined by two fosses (CW003-024005-); an irregular enclosure defined by a fosse (CW003-026----) and a circular enclosure defined by a fosse (CW003-027----). An associated field system extends S from the enclosures (CW003-024001-). Bibliography Barrett, G.F. 'Early landscapes in County Carlow: an aerial perspective, in T. McGrath and T. O'Keefe (eds), County Carlow: History and Society, Geography Publications, Dublin. Forthcoming 2008. Barrett, G.F. (1999) 'Relevé aérien d'archéologie en Irlande, in Archeologie Aerienne: Actes du colloque du festival international d'archéologie d'Amiens. Revue archaeologie de Picardie special 17/1999. APPAH Ministère de la culture, Amiens et de l'Université de Picardie, pp. 245-52. ISSN 0752-5656 . Barrett, G.F. (1996) 'Archaeological air survey in County Carlow: discovery and destruction' Carloviana, 44, pp. 16-22. Barrett, G.F. (1995) 'Recovering the hidden archaeology of Ireland: the impact of aerial survey in the River Barrow valley, 1989-91” in O. Braasch, and G. Wetzel, G. (eds), Aerial Archaeology in eastern and central Europe, 45-59, Proceedings of the Kleinmachnow conference, Brandenburg Museum, Potsdam, pp.45-59. ISBN 3-910011-08-X. Compiled by: Dr. Gillian Barrett and Claire Breen for the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. Date of revision: 16 March 2012

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