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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Thomastown (fore By.)

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Clearly Irish and human, the fort is a broad oval of grass and soil on a low hill, large enough for several houses and a causeway for carts. It is not a fairy trap or fictional child's circle; it is a ordinary ringfort where people lived, worked and perhaps fled. The fairies belong only in the nickname, not the evidence.
Located at the crest of the S-facing slope of a broad low hill in an undulating landscape. This is an oval grass-covered area (dims 33m NE-SW; 24.5m NW-SE) defined by an overgrown earthen bank (Wth of base 3-6.5m; int. H 0.5-0.9m) that is reduced to an overgrown scarp (Wth 5m; H 3m) E-S. There is an outer fosse (Wth of top 5.5-8m; Wth of base 1.5-2m; ext. D 0.2-1.2m) SW-N that is re-cut as a drain N-NE and morphs into a berm (Wth 3m) NE-S. The entrance (Wth of base 1.4m) and causeway (Wth of top 2.7m; H 1m) are at SW. There are two possible hut-sites in the interior. Inside the bank at NE is a raised circular grass-covered area (diam. of top 14m) defined by a scarp (H 0.4-0.8m). Inside the bank at W is a raised circular grass-covered area (diam. of top 10m) defined by a scarp (H 0.7-1m). 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: Michel Moore Date of revision: 9 January 2019

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What survives
Recorded monument

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