What is recorded here

Kilnaclay holds a broad grassy ring on the eastern summit of a ridge, marked as a fort on an 1834 map and still shadowed by a southern bank. It has no visible gate or ditch, inviting speculation rather than certainty. The nearby Rath and forgotten lives around the ridge suggest the area served several purposes at once: residence, boundary, ritual or reuse. The fort does not need a dramatic claim to be remarkable. It preserves the shape of human attention on a small ridge, waiting for patience and imagination.

Situated at the E summit of an E-W ridge that has a number of rises along the ridge. It is depicted faintly as a circular embanked enclosure (ext. diam. c. 45-50) on the 1834 edition of the OS 6-inch map where it is described in gothic lettering as a ‘fort’ and it is represented as an arc of hachures (Chord c. 47m SSE-NNW) with a field bank outside it SSE-SW-NNW on the 1907 edition. This is a raised grass-covered subcircular area (dims 39m N-S; 31m E-W) defined by a scarp (at S: Wth 4-4.3m; H 2.3-2.7m) with a field bank at its base SSW-NNW. There is no visible fosse or entrance. Rath (MO013-004----) is c. 80m to the ENE. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 22 February 2018

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