What is recorded here

Fairy forts are no such thing, though people still call them that. A ringfort is a human home, built and lived in, not a fairy circle. The fort in Ballynatra is a slightly raised circular area enclosed by an earthen bank, with a shallow ditch outside it. The bank is levelled in one place and has been taken into the field fence, which is what happens when a old home stops being a home and becomes part of the land people still use.

In pasture, on N-facing slope. Circular, slightly raised area (29.5m N-S; 27m E-W) enclosed by earthen bank (int. H 0.35m; ext. H 1.2m) with shallow external fosse. Bank levelled to NE; incorporated into field fence system ENE->SE. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.