What is recorded here

Butterhouse held a circular fort on a slight rise, visible in 1836 and still marked in 1912. People lived beside or within that ring before the platform was removed in 1968, leaving only a dark soil disc and clay band for others to read. The bones found in its northwest quadrant suggest death and burial occurred there, even if the names are gone. What remains is a shallow wound in the ground where an entire local world once stood.

Situated on a rise in a fairly level landscape. A circular embanked enclosure with trees on the bank is depicted on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map where it is described as a ‘Fort’, and it is depicted as a hachured feature on the 1912 edition. It was described locally as a flat-topped platform (H c. 1m) before it was removed in 1968 (SMR file). In 1969 it was visible as a circular area of dark soil (diam. 23m) defined by a band of yellow clay (Wth 4m at E to 8m at W) on the site of the bank and an outer ring of dark soil on the site of an outer fosse (Wth 5.5m at W to 10m at E). Some bones were noted in the NW quadrant (max. ext. diam. 46-50m). It has not become visible on any aerial imagery. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 21 August 2019

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