What is recorded here

Indicated is a fairy fort in County Mayo, Ireland, where a circular earthen bank still holds the shape of an old boundary despite centuries of change. The western arc has softened under graves and memory, while the eastern edge remains sharp enough to show the fortis still resists forgetting. People have buried their dead inside the ring, trusting the land to keep what it already knew how to hold.

In average pasture, located on a slight rise. This rath has been modified and its interior used as burial ground (MA052-003001-) in the modern era. It consists of a slightly raised circular area (34.8m N−S; 31m E−W) defined by a bank. Outside the bank at NW−E is a fosse with an external bank. The inner bank (Wth 3.3m; int. H 0.4m; ext. H 1.9m, at E) is well defined on the E half, but degraded on the W arc where it has been disturbed by burials. The fosse varies in width; it is narrower (Wth 2m) at NW−N, and widens at NE−S (Wth 3.3m, at E). It is defined on its outer edge by an earthen bank (Wth 2m; int. H 0.85m; ext. H 0.9-1m, at E), faced on its external slope with drystone walling. The external bank has clearly served as a field fence, and it is unclear if it is primary to the rath. The fosse and external bank/field fence are not evident at SW−N, where they appear to have been levelled as a result of an extension of the graveyard beyond the confines of the rath. The rath interior has an uneven surface. Much of the W half is covered by graves, the majority of which appear to be of 20th-century in date. Sycamore trees grow on the external bank. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 26 June 2020

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