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Indicated

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Indicated is a dilapidated earthen ringfort in County Mayo, Ireland, where a quarry pit now cuts through the interior and hawthorn trees choke the ancient bank. The place belongs to the long human habit of marking boundary and belonging on open land, even when the original purpose has faded from memory. Its broken circle still stands among other raths nearby, suggesting a settled landscape rather than a lonely outlier.
In pasture, located on a rise in gently undulating terrain. Ground falls gently towards a stream 70m to S. Slightly raised subcircular area (30.7m N−S; 34.6m E−W) defined by a dilapidated earthen bank which retains a low internal lip and is reduced to a scarp at SSE−SW. The bank/scarp has been modified and incorporated into later field fences at WSW−N and ESE−SE and is topped with a loose jumble (Wth 1m; H 0.6m) of stones. On the SW arc the external slope of the scarp has been cut to the vertical and faced with stone walling. Remnants of field fences, removed elsewhere in the field, abut the rath at SW and NE. A slight depression (Wth 3m) is evident outside the bank on the NE arc, possibly a fosse, but it cannot be traced elsewhere around the circuit. The interior slopes down from centre to S and SW. A gap (Wth 1.6m) at ENE may be an original entrance. There are also two narrow eroded breaks (Wth 0.6m) at N. Ground surface in the interior is lightly strewn with stones A quarry pit (c. 8.5m N−S; 14.5m E−W; D 1.1m) cuts into the interior from the scarp at W The rath is densely ringed with hawthorn, hazel and blackthorn trees, and hazel trees grow throughout the interior. There are raths (MA071-036----; MA071-037----; MA071-039----; MA071-040----) 260m to NW, 120m to N; 255m to NE and 370m to ENE, respectively. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 13 July 2021

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What survives
Recorded monument

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