Vitrified Fort — Shantemon

Located on top of a prominent hill. It is described as a ‘Vitrified Fort’ in gothic lettering on the 1835 and 1908 editions of the OS 6-inch map. An early description of the fort identified vitrified material and recorded that much of it had already been quarried, so the enclosure may have been more extensive with outer banks, although there is no evidence of them today (Otway 1818). This is a D-shaped and raised, grass and scrub-covered area (int. dims c. 36m ENE-WSW; 40m NNW-SSE) enclosed by a low bank of earth and stone or a stony scarp (at SW: Wth 1.7m; int. H c. 0.25m; ext. H 0.9m). It is cut by an ENE-WSW field bank towards the edge at N, and the perimeter could not be traced beyond this bank WNW-N-NE in 1987 where it was within a coniferous forest (SMR file). The enclosure was defined by a grass and heather-covered bank of vitrified stone and earth, which arises when stone is burnt at such high temperatures that it liquefies, but the original entrance was not identified. This might be one of the few enclosures in Ireland where vitrification has been recognised. The internal ground level was uneven in 1987 and there is a trigonometric station in the interior. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Amended by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 7 June 2019