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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Baile Órthaí (kells Upper By.)

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

No amount of thinking can solve the fact that half the circle is gone. The remaining bank stands one to one and a half metres high on a broad rise, enclosing a grassy D-shape thirty metres long. A stone-lined gap faces southeast, inviting entry into what is left. The missing western section does not fade from the story; it sharpens the shape of the loss.
Situated on a broad rise. This is a D-shaped grass-covered area (dims 31.5m NNW-SSE; c. 20m E-W) defined by an earthen bank (Wth of base 4.5-5m; int. H 0.4-0.5m; ext. H 0.8m at N to 1.6m at S) N-E-S with some internal stone facing at ESE but the W part of the monument has been removed. There is no visible fosse but the entrance (Wth of base 2.5m), stone-lined at NE, is at SE. There is a raised platform (dims of top 12.5m N-S; 8m E-W; H 0.4m) inside the perimeter at N. Archaeological testing (00E0337) by F. O’Carroll immediately to the E produced no related material (excavatioins.ie 2000:0772). 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. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 12 April 2019 Amended: 29 January 2021

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
No visible remains or recorded as destroyed

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