What is recorded here

Fairy forts hide in plain sight, which is why LiDAR found this one before boots did. Susan Curran traced its shallow D-shaped bank in Cartown pasture, where a thin earthen ridge and faint ditch still mark the edge of an old enclosed life. The site sits low on a south-facing slope yet remains trapped inside higher ground, as if the land closed its fingers around a small chamber. People may have lived, buried or prayed there before fields and drains cut through the work.

Located in improved pasture, towards the bottom of a S-facing slope, but it is surrounded by higher ground within 300-600m. It was first identified by Susan Curran as part of an M.A. thesis with University College Dublin using a LiDAR survey dataset commissioned by Leitrim County Council and the National Roads Authority. This is a D-shaped area (dims 20m E-W; 9m N-S) defined by a slight earthen bank (at NE: Wth of base 5.1m; Wth of top 2m; int. H 0.25; ext. H 0.4m) and outer fosse (at NE: Wth of top 7.3m; Wth of base 3m; D 0.25m) WSW-N-ENE. The monument is truncated by an ENE-WSW drain and field bank with hedge at S, and there is no evidence of the monument beyond this boundary. There is no evidence of an original entrance. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 11 May, 2015

A fairy fort, also known as an earthen ringfort or rath, is a circular earthwork enclosure typically dating to the early medieval period (c. 500–1000 AD), often associated with Irish folklore involving fairies and other supernatural beings. While no specific folklore is recorded for this example in Cartown, such sites were traditionally believed to be entrances to the Otherworld or homes of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

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