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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Gortloney

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

No visible entrance is apparent at the west, but the north-east gap holds a low causeway, proving the fort was built for deliberate entry rather than accidental drift. The earthen bank still stands nearly three metres high on the west side, while a broad outer ditch cuts through the grass like a forgotten riverbed. Two other raths sit within three hundred metres, suggesting a small cluster of residences rather than a lonely outlier. The fairies may have taken the name, but the measurements belong to humans who shaped soil into a defensible home on a Meath rise.
Situated on a rise in an undulating landscape. This is a raised circular and slightly domed (H 0.8m) grass-covered area (diam. 27.5m NNW-SSE; 26m ENE-WSW) defined by an earthen bank that is best preserved (at WSW: Wth of base 6m; int. H 0.7m; ext. H 2.9m) E-WSW and is planted with a hedge. There is an outer fosse that is well preserved (Wth of top 4.5-6m; ext. D 0.9-1.1m) E-S-NW. There are entrances at W and NNE but the latter (Wth of base 2.8m) with its causeway (Wth of top 1.3m; H 0.25m) is probably original. Rath (ME015-065----) is c. 170m to the W and rath (ME015-067----) is c. 150m to the S. 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: 9 January 2019

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What survives
Recorded monument

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