Enclosure in Lislahelly

Located on a level terrace in damp, rush-grown upland pasture. To N ground rises steadily for a few hundred meters to the foot of the precipitous S face of of King’s Mountains; to S, c. 30m from the enclosure, ground falls away steeply into the valley of the Drumcliff River, and there are good views of the N-facing slope of a ridge bordering the S side of the valley. Cope’s Mountain looms in the middle distance to SE, and Knocknarae is visible in the distance to SW. The enclosure is at the N end of a long rectangular field; an E-W field bank, bordering the N side of the field, is 3m to N of the enclosure. This enclosure is not shown on the 1836-7 and 1940-1 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a circular area (26m E−W; 25m N−S) enclosed by a broad, low earthen bank. The bank (Wth 5.5-6m; H 0.4-0.5m) is best preserved on the W half, particularly on the NW arc, where it is evident as a substantial rise, with a flattened top (Wth 1.8-2m) and broadly-slumped sides; the inner face has a more gradual slope, merging gently with the enclosure interior, the exterior slope is somewhat steeper and more sharply defined. On the E half of the enclosure, the bank is reduced to a very low rise. There are several gaps in the bank, particularly numerous on the E half; most are between 1-2m in width, and appear to be the result of disturbance in the relatively recent past, but a wider gap (Wth 3m) at NW may be an entrance. The flat, rush-grown interior is not noticeably raised above exterior ground level. A narrow N−S linear feature/cropmark extends thought the interior, coinciding with breaks in the enclosure bank at N and S; it appears to be the remnant of an old drain. The function of this enclosure is unclear. It may be the levelled remnants of a rath, but it does not have the raised or slightly raised interior typical of raths in this area. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 21 August 2018