What is recorded here

In 1840, a solid circular wall enclosed thirty metres of Gortroe pasture, but a cutting road later split the fort in two. The eastern half now hides beneath tall grass, revealing only a faint scarped edge and shadowy cropmarks when summer drought strips the vegetation bare. The western half has vanished entirely, leaving behind a broken circle where human hands built a home before forgetting how to keep it whole.

In pasture, on gentle NE-facing slope. Site is depicted on 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map as an embanked circular enclosure (ext. diam. c. 40m; int. diam. c. 29m) bisected by a public road on a SW-NE axis. Monument bisected by road, depicted on the 1897 ed. OSi 25-inch map as a circular-shaped area (diam. c. 29m) enclosed by a bank and external fosse from SSW-W-N which has been reduced to a scarp elsewhere. No surface trace of enclosure was visible on NW side of road at time of inspection. On SE side of road a scarped edge (H 0.35m; Wth 2.5m) can just be traced NE->SW in field covered by tall grass, defining a D-shaped area (22.5m from road to scarped edge NW-SE). Interior, covered by tall grass, slopes down to NE following gradient of surrounding terrain. Site recently revisited by Sarah McCutcheon after a period of prolonged dry summer weather and the cropmark of the ditch of the levelled earthwork was visible on the E half of the monument, while the outline of a much degraded low bank was visible on the W half of the monument. See attached sketch plan and photographs provided courtesy of Sarah McCutcheon, Limerick Local Authority Archaeologist Compiled by: Denis Power Revised by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Sarah McCutcheon Date of revised upload: 24 August 2022

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