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Indicated

Fairy fort / stone ringfort

What is recorded here

Indicated is a stone ringfort in County Mayo, Ireland, where a thick drystone wall still stands on a low ridge overlooking a broad stream valley. The southern inner face reaches 1.5m, but the northern arc has collapsed into a rough jumble of stones that barely rises above the ground. No clear entrance remains, only slumped sections and a heap of stones piled against the wall, leaving the fort open to wonder rather than certainty about who entered or what they kept inside.
In pasture, located on a low E−W ridge, which provides good view over the surrounding undulating landscape, especially to NW and NE along the course of a broad, flat stream valley. Slightly raised oval area (30m N−S; 24.8m E−W) defined by a substantial drystone wall (Wth 1.4m). The external wall face retains much of its original wall construction, especially in the basal 2-3 courses which are intact and incorporate large limestone blocks and boulders. A section at W survives to a height of 5 courses (H 1.6m) and appears to be built on top of a low earthen scarp (H 0.3m), now partly obscured by a heap of field clearance stones and by hawthorn bushes. The upper courses of the external wall face consist of rough, uncoursed walling, possibly rebuilt in parts, with several area of outward slumping or collapse. The external wall face is lowest (max. H 0.6m) on the N arc, where it is topped with a low jumble of small stones, probably field clearance. The inner wall face stands to a height of 1-1.5m on the S arc, but appears crudely constructed, with much small stones piled on top, and is likely to have been at least partly rebuilt here in the modern era. On the N arc it has collapsed to a rough jumble of stones (max. int. H 0.7m), which barely rises above interior ground level in parts. There are low or slumped areas in the wall at SE, WSW and NNW but no clearly defined entrance gap. The interior is fairly level, but with occasional small sod-covered rises or undulations. A heap of stones (2.8m NE−SW; 2m NW−SE; H 0.3m) is piled against the inner wall face at S. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 20 April 2021

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What survives
Recorded monument

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