What is recorded here

A closed earthen ring in Akip, County Laois, still stands fifty metres wide with no visible entrance, defying the usual purpose of a fort. The bank rises one and a half metres outside but only eighty centimetres inside, creating a shallow trap rather than a tall wall. People may have lived within that smooth circle or abandoned it before stone tools arrived, leaving behind a shape so complete it resists explanation.

A circular area (max. diam. c. 50m) defined by an earthen bank (Wth c. 3.4m; int. H c. 0.8m, ext. H c. 1.7m) and external fosse (Wth c. 3.9m, ext. D c. 1.1m). No visible evidence of original entrance. 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.