What is recorded here

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Oldtown (deece Upper By., Gallow Par.) stands as a circular grass-covered area 26.6m NE-SW and 25.5m NW-SE on a low rise near the diverted Rye Water River. Its earthen banks and flat-bottomed fosses remain partly visible, with a small eastern gap that could mark the original entrance. The site preserves the shape of an old rath, waiting for people to walk its edge and measure how much of the field still remembers the hand that cut it.

Situated on a low rise in a fairly low-lying landscape where a N-S canalised section of the Rye Water River just 50m to the W is diverted from its original course and now runs WNW-ESE on the N side of the Royal Canal just S of the monument. This is a circular grass-covered area (26.6m NE-SW; 25.5m NW-SE) that slopes down slightly to the S defined by a slight scarp (Wth 1-1.5m; H 0.8m) NE-S-SW that morphs into the lip of a slight bank at NW (Wth of base 9m; int. H 0.2m; ext. H 2.6m) separated by a flat-bottomed fosse (Wth of top 12-13m; Wth of base 2-3m; ext. H 1.0-2m) from a middle earthen bank (Wth of base 7-8m; ext. H 1.4-1.5m) that only survives S-W-NNE. This is separated by a flat-bottomed fosse (Wth of top 7-8m; Wth of base 1-2m; ext. D 1-1.1m) from an outer earthen bank (Wth of base 4.5m-6; ext. H 1m) that only survives W-N. A small gap (Wth of base 1.3m) in the scarp at ESE could be an original entrance. The outer banks support some bushes. 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: 27 August 2019

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