What is recorded here

Fairy forts are a common name for ringforts. If this is one, people lived here and left a hole in the ground. The size and shape still show that someone built a boundary around their own life. The fairies may have arrived later, using the empty house for their own purposes.

The following description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Circular area (diam. c. 30m) surrounded by large earthen bank and deep fosse. Entrance possibly at W where fosse is shallow. Traces of foundation of hut adjacent to bank at NW.

A fairy fort, or earthen ringfort, in Williamstown is a small, circular earthen enclosure typical of early-medieval Ireland, likely dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries AD. Local tradition associates such sites with fairy folk, and they were often avoided for fear of disturbing supernatural inhabitants.

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