What is recorded here

The fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Finlough is in County Sligo, Ireland. The earthen fort is in pasture on the south side of an east-west ridge where the ground slopes more steeply to the south and southeast. It appears as a raised subcircular area with an earthen bank, a steep scarp and a gap at the east. A narrow band of different plant growth outside the bank suggests an old ditch, while bushes cover the perimeter.

In pasture, straddling a break of slope on the S side of an E-W ridge; the ground slopes gently down to N and more steeply to S and SE. Indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as an embanked circular area (diam. c. 20m). It is now evident as a raised subcircular area (36.8m NNW-SSE; 36.5m E-W) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 3.3m; int. H 0.55m; ext. H 1.45m) NW-E, by a scarp (H 1.8m) SE-SW and W-NW and by a linear field boundary SW-W. A gap (Wth 2.5m) occurs in the bank at ESE. The N third of the interior is level; in the remainder the ground slopes markedly down to S and SW. Outside the bank NE-E is a 2m wide band of differential growth, probably indicating the line of an external fosse. At the break of slope, a curving scarp (L 6m E-W; H 1.1m) has been cut into the interior and continues indistinctly in a curve to the SE (L c. 8-9m). The perimeter is covered with bushes. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008

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