What is recorded here

Hilltop enclosure in Ballon: a circular stone circle, 120 to 140 metres across, on the summit of Ballon Hill in County Carlow. Farmers carted away the walls for manure, erasing the monument from ordinary sight. The stones may have marked a boundary, a gathering place or a ceremonial circuit, but human hands removed the proof.

A large roughly circular enclosure (diam. c. 120-140m) encompassing the summit of Ballon Hill. The monument is visible on Bing aerial imagery (identified by Nial O’Neill, Ballon Hill Archaeology Project). The S and SW sector is defined by a field boundary and elsewhere the monument appears to be defined by scarp. A smaller enclosure (CW013-068----) has been identified within this possible hilltop enclosure, off-centre in the NW quadrant (Ballon Hill Archaeology Project). Graves (1852-3, 296), in his article on the Ballon Hill cemetery (CW013-065----), notes that, 'On the summit … were formerly large and curious entrenchments, locally known as "The walls of Troy". These … have from time to time been all carted away by the neighbouring farmers for manure, so that not a trace ... now remains'. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 11 March 2014

A large early-medieval ringfort on Ballon Hill, likely dating to the 6th–10th centuries, based on its form and context. Local tradition associates the site with fairy lore, common in such elevated, enigmatic hilltop enclosures.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.