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Indicated

Moated site

What is recorded here

Indicated is a moated site in County Mayo, Ireland, where a substantial earthen bank and broad fosse still outline a trapezoidal chamber in gently undulating pasture. Stones protrude through the inner slope, perhaps remnants of a lost stone facing, while a causeway and bowed gap on the east side suggest an entrance facing southeast. The place may have been a residence, refuge or ceremonial marker, but its true purpose has faded into the grass, thistles and memory of the land.
Located adjacent to the W boundary of the townland, in gently undulating pasture, with good views in all directions. A shallow water-filled depression (c. 20m across) is located 25m to NW. Slightly raised, subrectangular area (40.5m NNE−WSW; 39m WNW−ESE at N, c. 25m at S) defined by a substantial earthen bank, outside which there is a broad, well defined fosse with remnants of an external bank. The overall plan is roughly trapezoidal with rounded corners; the E side is slightly skewed inwards at its S end so that it is not strictly parallel with the W side. The inner bank (Wth 5m at S, 5.7m at N; int. H 1.3m at S, 1m at N; ext. H 1.7 at S, 1.8m at N) is quite compact, composed of gravelly earth. It has a berm-like terrace on its slumped inner slope, especially evident on the N side, and similar terracing on parts of the external slope eroded by farm stock. The fosse (Wth base 4.5m at S, 3.7m at N) has a broad flat base. The outer bank (Wth 3.8m; int. H 1.4m; ext. H 1.05m, at N) is evident as a low rise on the W side, and is well defined on the N side; it is almost entirely levelled on the E side, and there are only low remnants on the S side. Stones protrude randomly from the inner slope in parts at N, W and SW, possibly remnants of stone facing. The S side is partly truncated by an E−W field wall, and a N−S field wall, coinciding with townland boundary, skirts the W side. A gap, with the terminals bowing outwards slightly, midway along the E side may be an original entrance. It faces SE, across the remnants of a causeway over the partly infilled fosse. Grass and thistles in the interior; banks sod-covered with occasional hawthorn trees; nettles and thistles in the fosse. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 21 December 2022

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What survives
Recorded monument

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