What is recorded here

Thirty centuries of rain have sanded the edges of Rathowen East, yet the circle holds. A low earthen bank and faint ditch still trace a twenty-metre chamber where hawthorn now marks the boundary. The eastern gap, partly blocked by buried stones, invites entry into a level pasture space that has witnessed generations of human and fairy traffic.

In average pasture, located on a slight rise in undulating terrain. The location provides good but not extensive views, restricted somewhat by gently rising ground. Slightly raised, circular area (20.8m N–S; 19.9m E–W) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 2-2.5m; int. H 0.25m; ext. H 0.65m), and enclosed by an external fosse (Wth c. 3m; D 0.2m). The bank is quite degraded and very low internally, reduced almost to a scarp in parts. It is broken by several eroded gaps. The fosse is evident as a very slight depression. The interior is level. There is a gap (Wth 2m) at E, which may be the original entrance, although stones, barely protruding from the ground, extend across the gap. A ring of hawthorn grows around the perimeter. There is a post and wire fence, on an E–W axis, immediately to N of the rath. There is another rath (MA022-007----) located 100m to N. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 April 2019

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