What is recorded here

Knockballystine holds a thirty-seven metre earthen ring where human hands shaped soil into a defensible circle centuries before written memory. The bank still stands, partly straightened by old field fences, partly scarped by time, marking two possible entrances at southeast and southwest. People may have lived, hidden or worshipped inside that small world, while later inventories measured what their urgency left behind.

The following description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Circular area (diam. 37m) surrounded by narrow regular bank. No visible surface traces of fosse. Two possible entrances, at SE and SW. From N-E-SE bank is fairly straight and was formerly incorporated in field fence. Elsewhere, bank appears to have been scarped.

A fairy fort in Knockballystine is an earthen ringfort, typically dating to the early medieval period (c. 500–1000 AD), and is associated with local folklore involving fairies and other supernatural beings. Such sites were often believed to be the homes of the "good people" and were treated with caution by local communities.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.