What is recorded here

Killegland holds a subcircular earthen fort inside its church graveyard, where a hidden underground passage emerged during later work. The bank stands highest on the north-east and south-west, marking a boundary that has watched the level landscape for centuries. People called it a fairy fort because the shape resisted ordinary explanation, yet it likely served as a human shelter or marker before the church claimed the ground.

Situated on a slight rise in a level landscape, with the fold of a small S-N steam just to the E, and the stream itself is c. 20m distant. Although the parish church of Killegland (ME045-004----) is not marked on the 1836 ed. of the OS 6" map the enclosure is described in italic lettering as a 'Grave Yard' and in gothic lettering as a 'fort'. Inside the perimeter of the graveyard (ME045-004001-) is a rath, identifiable as a subcircular area (dims 39m N-S; c. 35m E-W) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 5-5.5m; int. H 0.3-0.5m; ext. H 1.2-1.5m) that is most intact NW-NE and ESE-SW. No fosse or entrance can be identified.A Man-made underground passage (ME045-004002-) that probably relates to the use of the rath was recorded in 1982. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 8 April, 2015 Amended: 22 December 021

A fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Killegland is a circular earthen enclosure, likely dating to the early medieval period, used as a defensive or agricultural settlement. Local tradition associates such sites with fairy lore, and they were often avoided due to beliefs about supernatural inhabitants.

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