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Moat

Castle, motte and bailey
Moat
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What is recorded here

Drumcondra moat stands at the crest of a north-facing hill in County Meath, its grassy mound and rectangular bailey still marked by deep fosses and a surviving earth bank. The shape suggests a small fortress built to command the slope, perhaps watched by a keeper who knew every shadow moving across the grass.
Located at the crest of the N-facing slope of a hill. The motte is a circular grass and scrub-covered, flat-topped mound that can be distinguished from the fosse (max. diam. of top 14m NW-SE; diam. of base 27.5m NW-SE; H 2.5m at SE to 4.3m at NW; total H 4.3m at SE to 7.1m at NW) with some trees defined by a fosse (Wth of top 4.5m at NW to 9.5m at SW; int. D 1.6-2.8m; ext. D 1.5-1.8m). There is a raised rectangular and grass-covered bailey (dims of top 29m NE-SW; 25m NW-SE) defined by traces of a bank (Wth 4.5m; int. H 0.5m) at E and S and by overgrown fosses (Wth of top 7-9m; int. D 2.5-3m generally to 1.6m at NW; ext. D 0.2m at NE and SE to 1.4-1.7m) on every side extending ESE of the motte. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 7 June 2016 Amended: 14 December 2022

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What survives
Recorded monument

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