What is recorded here

Hilltop enclosure in Rathgeran stands on a 235m summit at the western edge of the Blackstairs, its wide stone bank enclosing a space large enough for hundreds to gather beneath an open sky. The view stretches west over the River Barrow valley while the mountain range rings the horizon in every other direction, suggesting the site was chosen to be seen as much as to see. Concencic circles carved on a boulder nearby mark the landscape as a place where human attention gathered repeatedly across time.

On the W edge of the Blackstairs mountain range. Enclosing the summit of a prominent hill (OD 235m) with extensive views over the valley of the River Barrow to the W and the Blackstairs are visible on the horizon to the N, E and S (Redmond 2020, 37). A large enclosure (diam. c. 75m N-S; c. 80m E-W) defined along the NW sector by a grass-covered bank (overall Wth 5.6m; int. H 0.3m; ext. H 1.2m) of earth and stones, including several large boulders, several standing upright. A detailed survey of the enclosure was carried out by Redmond (2020, 37-41) and the resulting digital elevation model (ibid. fig. 8, 41), clearly shows the full extent of the monument. Rock art (CW023-013---) is to be found c. 130m NW of the hilltop enclosure, on an earth-fast boulder. It is decorated with eight groups of concentric circles (Hughes 1968, 62-3). See attached: KK023-014----_01 Digital Elevation Model by James Redmond (2020, fig. 8, 41). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 2 February 2021

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