Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Sionhill

Situated on a slight terrace, on the W-facing slope of a high-ridge, in pasture, with good views to W and NW. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a subcircular-shaped earthwork. Monument described in 1998 as an oval-shaped area (dims 19.7m E-W; 15.5m N-S) enclosed by an earthen bank (int. H 0.2-0.3m; ext. H 0.35m; Wth 2.6-3.5m) from NE-E-S-W, which has been reduced to an embankment (H 0.45-0.7m) from W-N-NE. The bank is flat topped (Wth at top 0.8m) from ESE-S-SSW. There is a gap (Wth 1.4m) in the bank at ESE and another gap (Wth 7m) at SW. There is no longer any evidence of a fosse, although an ASI field description from 1970 describes a deep U-shaped fosse that was visible from ENE-E-S. The interior has a gentle E-facing slope. Monument is visible as a plectrum-shaped earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 04 July 2019