What is recorded here

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Higginstown (farbill By.) is a fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Higginstown (farbill By.), County Westmeath, Ireland. A 1970 to 1972 description recorded a subrectangular area measuring 44.4 metres from northeast to southwest and 36 metres from northwest to southeast, enclosed by an earthen bank, an intervening ditch, and an outer bank. The entrance gap at the southeast measured 4.7 metres overall and 2.1 metres at the base, with a causeway present that was 7.4 metres wide at the base, 3.3 metres wide at the top, and 0.35 metres high. The inner bank had gaps at the southwest, north, and northeast, while the outer bank was best preserved from southeast to south and from west to north-northwest.

Situated in low-lying, level pasture with good views to E. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a circular-shaped earthwork. Monument described in 1970-2 as a subrectangular-shaped area (dims. 44.4m NE-SW; 36m NW-SE) enclosed by an earthen bank, intervening fosse and an outer bank. The inner bank has gaps at SW, N, and NE. The outer bank is best preserved from SE-S and from W-NNW but is disturbed NNW-NE by a modern field fence running WNW-ESE and is much disturbed at SW. The entrance gap (overall Wth 4.7m; basal Wth 2.1m) is at SE where a causeway (basal Wth 7.4m; top Wth 3.3m; H 0.35m) is present. The interior has a gentle E-facing slope with traces of cultivation ridges running WNW-ESE. There is grass-covered rock in the SW sector. Monument is visible today as a roughly circular-shaped tree-lined earthwork on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien. Date of upload: 05 July 2019

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.