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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Caheragh

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Caheragh holds a broad earthen ring on a rocky hillock, large enough to swallow a house and strong enough to exclude everyone but its owner. The bank rises nearly four metres, forcing a person to climb or crawl through narrow gaps rather than walk past unobserved. A hidden passage may still cut through the southwest earth, suggesting the fort was built for secrecy as much as strength. People may have lived there, hidden there, or simply avoided the place because the earth itself seemed to be watching back.
In pasture, atop hillock broken by rock outcrop. Circular area (36.5m N-S; 37.5m E-W) enclosed by earthen bank (max H 3.8m). Break in bank to NNW (Wth 5m); and WSW (Wth 4m), where triangular feature adjoins inner bank face. Possible Man-made underground passage (CO132-017002-) in SW quadrant. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). 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.

What survives
Recorded monument

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