Fairy fort or stone ringfort in Kiltyfergal

Fairy fort / stone ringfort

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What survives: Recorded monument

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What is recorded here

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Internal diam. c. 20m-30m. Known as 'Caiseal Ban' a few boulders mark the site which was largely destroyed about 50 years ago. It was situated on a slight knoll on the side of Glenfinn Valley in fairly good land. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). The site was overgrown and instruction had been given to remove the growth from the site prior to testing. Unfortunately the sod and a few centimetres of topsoil were also removed during the process. The proposed development site contains the site of a cashel. The Donegal Archaeological Survey (ed. Brian Lacy, 1983, p. 147) describes the site as a collection of boulders, with the majority of the cashel having been removed 60 years ago. Testing was carried out in June 2004. Six trenches were excavated by machine across the site, specifically sited to investigate the possible location of the cashel and the portions of the site to be directly affected by the proposed development. The site has been massively disturbed in the past and, to a lesser extent, more recently. A large spread of loose stone was immediately obvious on the site, exposed through the removal of the growth and sod. It measures roughly 15m east-west by 10m and extends north beyond the site obviously under the sod. This spread was intersected by Trench 5. No archaeological features or finds were identified in any of the six trenches. However, a visual examination of the stone spread revealed a portion of a jet/lignite bracelet, located between Trenches 5 and 6. The finding of this artefact confirms the presence of a cashel in the immediate area and also that the spread of stones is likely to be the remains of the cashel walls, clearly dumped in a secondary location some time in the recent past. As none of the trenches identified any cut features or wall foundations that could be associated with the cashel, it is quite possible that the cashel's original location was to the north of the proposed development site. The results from the testing revealed no evidence of archaeological activity. However, the spread of stones and the fragment of the jet/lignite bracelet may indicate the presence of subsurface archaeological features or finds not revealed by the testing. (Excavations Bulletin 2004) Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services, Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record DG068-028

Places near here

Picture notes

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Richard Webb, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kenneth Allen, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Wanfried-Dublin, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Computer-made picture. It does not show this playground.
Dr Neil Clifton, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Kenneth Allen, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Robert Bone, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

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