What is recorded here

Knocknahowna Fort is a circular earthen ringfort on low land near the head of Kenmare Bay, County Kerry. Its twenty-one-metre interior and dense overgrowth suggest a place where human activity faded rather than disappeared. The fort may have marked territory, sheltered people or belonged to fairy tradition, but its disturbed banks and scattered stones leave that purpose unresolved.

Internal diam. 21.8m N-S Knocknahowna Fort/Cnoc na hÓna: This circular uniallate rath is located in low-lying land, a short distance N of the head of Kenmare Bay. It has been seriously disturbed and the present remains are densely overgrown. The enclosing bank is of earth and stone and measures 1.5m high externally and 4m in basal width at N. Loose stones, scattered along the inner face, may indicate the former presence of drystone revetment walling here. Field clearance debris may account for a part of the bank's substantial width. Elsewhere the outline of the site survives as a barely discernible bank which contains some stone. There is a scattering of stone in the interior, but no definite features can be identified. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 551. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013

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