Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Knockhouse Lower

Situated in tillage on a gentle N-facing slope. A roughly circular enclosure (int. diam. c. 30m; overall diam. 65m) was identified as a cropmark on an aerial photograph (OSAP, 9859-95, 24). It is not visible at ground level, but its presence was confirmed by a geophysical survey conducted by GBS prospection as part of an EIS conducted by Phelan (03E0375) during 2001 (Phelan 2003, Fig. 5; Phelan 2006). The monument was fully excavated in 2015 in advance of a development following the re-zoning of the land for industrial use (Walsh and Ficner 2015). The structures and finds associated with the monument suggest that this was a ringfort dating to the 8th-10th centuries AD. Internally there are two structures (WA009-003003-; WA009-003004-), both defined by a concentration of post-holes, two Man-made underground passages (WA009-003005-; WA009-003006-) and a sunken structure (WA009-003007-). The interior was enclosed by two fosses with an entrance (Wth c. 2.5-3m) in the NE quadrant. The inner fosse (av.Wth 3.5m; max. D 2m) was steep-sided with a rounded or flat base, in places dug into the underlying slaty bedrock. The outer fosse (av. Wth 1.7m; D 0.9m) was gradual to steep-sided with a rounded base and lay 2-3m outside and concentric with the inner fosse. The entrance is defined by a break in the fosses with drystone built revetments at the terminals. Two pairs of large post-holes at the entrance have been interpreted as the foundations of gated entrance features. There was a third outermost discontinuous fosse (av. Wth 1.7m; D 0.1-0.5m) which had gently sloping sides and a rounded base, also 2-3m outside and, where evident, concentric with the middle fosse. This fosse had small gaps in the SW (c. 10m), NW (c. 4m) and NNE (c. 5m) and a break (c. 40m) from NE-SE. The excavation also revealed field ditches (WA009-003002-) which appear to be contemporary with the ringfort. (Walsh and Ficner 2015). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revision: 12 January 2016