What is recorded here

Fairy forts are not forgeries but abandoned cattle pens, and Glanturkin is one of them. Its clay bank once held beasts, not spirits, though people still call it a fairy fort because the shape suggests more than farm work. The field changed long before modern memory, and the name preserved the mystery instead of explaining it.

In tillage, on SE-facing slope, overlooking Gyleen Bay to SSE. Excavated by O'Flaherty (1982, 129-31) prior to levelling. Circular area (max. diam. 35m) defined by bank (max. H 2m); bank heavily denuded on N side. Excavation revealed bank constructed of re-deposited boulder clay; also presence of external fosse. Partially stone-lined drain in interior; no evidence for occupation. Interpreted as cattle corral. According to Power (1940, 100) 'There were, at least, five lioses....; of these, three have been prostrated' (CO100-00901-; CO100-01001-; CO100-050---; CO100-051---). 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

A circular earthen ringfort in Glanturkin, likely dating to the early medieval period, with a maximum diameter of 35m and a bank up to 2m high, excavated by O'Flaherty in 1982. Local tradition refers to it as a fairy fort, reflecting the common Irish belief in such sites as dwellings of the faé or other supernatural beings.

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