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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Macetown (navan Lower By.)

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Fairy forts in County Meath are often called raths and marked only by shallow ditches. This one in Macetown measures thirty-five to forty metres across and keeps an eight-metre gap on its eastern edge. A drain runs through the middle, suggesting the ground was worked long after the fort was made. The name fairy fort may be mockery, wonder or a way of protecting the place from human greed.
Situated on a fairly level landscape. The cropmark of a circular enclosure (diam. c. 35-40m) defined by a single fosse feature is visible on Google Earth (14/07/2018). There is a wide break (Wth c. 8m) in the perimeter at E, and the interior is cut by the cropmark of an E-W drain (L c. 30m) with drain features extending N from it as far as the rath fosse. It was first reported by Anthony Murphy and also reported by Jean Charles Caillère. See the attached image from Google Earth 14/07/2018 Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 5 June 2019

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

What survives
Recorded monument

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