What is recorded here

Fairy forts in Meath are often small earthen rings hidden beside fields or woods. In Balrath, one such ring survives on a slight rise, marked by a bank, scarp and fosse rather than grand walls. People may have lived, buried or remembered there before the land was called a fairy fort. The name changes the meaning, not the shape: a small circle of earth still holds human time inside it.

Situated on a slight rise in a gently undulating, low-lying landscape. It is not depicted on any edition of the OS -6-inch map but is visible on aerial photographs (GSIAP: N 259, 260). This is a subcircular grass and scrub-covered area (dims 25.8m E-W; 20.4m N-S) defined by a slight earthen bank (Wth of base 4.5m; int. H 0.3m; ext. H 1.2m) SE-W and by a scarp (H 1-1.4m) elsewhere, with a complete fosse (Wth of top 2.5-3.1m; ext. D 0.2-0.4m). There is an entrance causeway (Wth of top 6m) at SW. It remains unplanted in a forest since c. 2005 (OSAP). 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: 8 January 2019

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