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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Rathregan

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Half a kilometre from the Tolka, a grassy disc rises thirty metres across, its edge cut into the plateau like a knife through clay. People called it a fairy fort, perhaps because the shape defied reason or because the fairies refused to leave empty vessels behind. The scarps are steep enough to stop most cattle and the entrance faces the valley, suggesting human hands shaped the circle before folklore claimed it.
Located at the edge of a plateau on the S side of the valley of a NW-SE portion of the River Tolka which is c. 40m to the NE. This is a raised, circular and grass-covered platform (diam. of top 34.5m N-S; 31m E-W) defined by a scarp (at S: Wth 5.5m; H 1.8m; at N: Wth 7m; H 2.4m), with some trees growing on the edge N-E. The platform slopes down slightly to the N and there is no visible bank or fosse but the entrance ramp (Wth 4m) is at SE. 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 upload: 10 July 2007 Amended: 22 November 2021

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What survives
Recorded monument

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