What is recorded here

No rampart stands in Harristown, yet the hidden fort still writes itself across the fields when drought or rain exposes its lines. A circular trench, a broader triangular boundary and a rectangular annex appear together in the soil, larger and stranger than the small round enclosure drawn on old maps. The land keeps the shape that people forgot, waiting for dry seasons to remind them the boundary never disappeared.

Marked on the 1908 edition of the OS 6-inch map as a circular enclosure (max. diam. c. 30m). Reference to a rath here (Comerford 1886, vol. 3, 265). No visible surface remains but the site appears as a cropmark on aerial photographs (GSI, S 61-2). Described by Comerford as 'Within a few fields distance (of Killanure graveyard), there is a rather remarkable Rath' (Comerford 1886,vol. 3, 265). Aerial photograph (GB90.AY.26) shows cropmark of a circular enclosure defined by a fosse set within a broader, almost triangular enclosure also defined by a fosse. A rectilinear enclosure is attached on the south-eastern side. The aerial photograph reveals a much more complex monument than the simple earthwork enclosure depicted on the first edition of the OS 6-inch map. This monument is clearly visible on the OSI website - 1995 orthophotographs. The above aerial report has been compiled by Dr. G.F. Barrett and supplied to the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. Date of this report: 06 January 2010 The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision : 13 August 2010

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