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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Cleighran More

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Fairy forts are often called raths or ringforts, yet they are not true forts. This is a grass-covered earthen circle on the edge of a shelf above Lough Allen, with a shallow outer ditch and no obvious defensive purpose. People may have kept animals, buried things, or simply marked a place they loved. The fairies are not the point; the shape is. A round border drawn into living land, still holding its form after every attempt to erase it.
Located on the outer edge of a shelf overlooking Lough Allen to the W. This is a grass and rush-covered subcircular area (int. dims 32m N-S; 26.5m E-W) defined by an overgrown earthen bank (Wth 4.5-5.5m; int. H 0.2-0.8m; ext. H 1.3-1.5m) W-N-SE, which is reduced to a slight scarp or a curve in a field wall (Wth 1m; ext. H 1.1m) elsewhere, and an external fosse (Wth of top 5-6.3m; Wth of base 1.5-3m; D 0.8m) N-E. The entrance may have been at SSE. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 September 2008

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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