What is recorded here

Forty-seven metres of earth and stone circle the inner reaches of the broad valley, yet modern fences and power poles have cut through its ancient skin. Two coffin-shaped pits sit inside, one capped with a broken millstone, waiting to reveal whether they marked the dead, stored grain, or simply tested the patience of anyone who dug them. The fort keeps its size but has lost its entrance, forcing every visitor to invent the door that once admitted life.

Internal diam. 43.8m N-S, 46.8m E-W A very large univallate rath situated about 100m NE of KE043-239----, in the inner reaches of the broad valley that surrounds Trabeg. The enclosing bank is composed of earth intermingled with much stone, and it has been considerably disturbed by the field fence which overlies it in the S and E sectors, by the erection of 2 ESB poles inside the W sector, and by the dumping of clearance stones against it, particularly to E. Where best preserved it is .8m high internally, 1.1m high externally and 1.6m wide at base. It is not clear where the original entrance lay. The only features visible in the interior are 2 small, roughly coffin-shaped pits, of unknown function, which lie close to each other in the N sector. These measure 1.64m and 1.4m in length and are up to .56m wide and .6m deep. They are partly lined with drystone masonry and the E end of the W pit is covered by 2 lintels, one of which is a portion of a broken millstone. These latter may be recent additions to prevent animals falling into the pit. The millstone is .82m in diameter and has a central perforation .12m in diameter. An unusual holed stone was found lying on top of the field wall which overlies the enclosing bank. It is irregularly-shaped and measures c. 0.54m x .58m; the perforation is .24m in diameter. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 525. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013

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