Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Gortmakellis

Off crest of ridge to SW, on a NE break of slope, in undulating terrain, under grass. Field boundary running NE-SW 13m SE of site, curving slightly to respect the site. Extensive view to N; good E and S though limited by hills; restricted upslope to W. Gortmakellis tower house visible c. 380m to ENE. Middle of present Cork-Dublin road is 50m from NW outer edge of ringfort. Univallate ringfort (diam. 28.2m N-S; 29.5m E-W) enclosed by a broad, flat bank (Wth 3.35m crest, 6.75m base; H above int. 0.5m; H above fosse 0.87m) and shallow external fosse (Wth 4.1m; D 0.3m). Bank is best preserved in E and S quads. Interior overgrown with nettles and some brambles but would be relatively clean during winter months. Scrub (hawthorn etc.) growing around edge of bank. Bank broken through in SW quad. (Wth 1.6m), probably a cattle gap. Wide gap (Wth 2.4m) in bank in NE sector and another overgrown gap in SE sector, either of which may be the original entrance. Bank is quite denuded from SW to W and in the NW sector. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011