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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Shandrum More

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Thirty-two metres of packed earth rise above Shandrum More, marking a forgotten chamber where human hands shaped the landscape before memory faded. The southeast gap aligns with a gentle ramp, suggesting deliberate entry rather than careless decay, while an underground passage cuts through the northwest quadrant. Cattle graze across the saucer now, unaware that they tread a built place rather than a natural bump. The fort endures not through praise but through structure: a clear boundary, a directed opening and a hidden route beneath the soil.
In pasture, atop rise. Circular, saucer-shaped platform (29.5m N-S; 32m E-W) enclosed by scarp with internal lip (int. H 0.25m); shallow external fosse; outer earthen bank (H 1.65m). Break in outer bank to NNE (Wth 0.8m), SE (Wth 2m) and W (Wth 0.8m). Gap to SE corresponds with gentle sloping ramp from interior to surrounding field, may be ancient. Cultivation ridges cross interior on N-S axis; Man-made underground passage (CO105-02402-) in NW quadrant. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009
A fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Shandrum More is a circular, saucer-shaped earthen enclosure typical of early-medieval ringforts (raths), likely dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries AD. Local folklore, common to many such sites in Ireland, associates it with the faé or otherworldly beings, though specific traditions for this site are not recorded.

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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