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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Oldcastle

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Half a kilometre from Oldcastle, a hidden ringfort crouches on a rise, its earthen bank still standing though centuries of grass have swallowed the entrance. The fairies took the gate when men stopped visiting, leaving only a broken circle where the soil remembers every footstep it has taken in.
Located on a rise in an undulating landscape. This is a circular, slightly domed (H 0.8m) and overgrown area (diam. 36m E-W; 33.5m NW-SE) defined by an earthen bank (at SE: Wth of base 6m; int. H 0.4m; ext. H 0.8m) ESE-SW and a shallow fosse (at SW: Wth of top 10m; Wth of base 5m; ext. D 0.5m), but the bank is reduced to a scarp (at NW: Wth 0.5m; H 0.4m) and the fosse to a berm (at NW: Wth 3m) and outer scarp (at NW: Wth 3.5m; H 1.2m) over much of the perimeter. The original entrance is not identified, and a lot of field stones have been added to the perimeter. 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: 31 October 2018

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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