Murroe Hilltop Enclosure

In pasture, located on top of a ridge, at the break of slope at the N end of the ridge where ground falls away steeply. The location provides sweeping views to NE−WSW of hilly, undulating pastureland, backed at SE−S by a rocky ridge, and to NW of an expanse of dunes with the Atlantic beyond. There is a stream at the base of the ridge c. 280m to SW. This enclosure consists of a circular area (19.5m E−W; 19.5m N−S) defined by a low profile, sod-covered bank (Wth 3.5-5m; int. H 0.4-0.5m; ext. H 0.3m at S, 0.6m at W) with broadly sloping sides. At NE−E a short section of an inner kerb of stones, two of which are edge-set, remains in situ. Low stones protruding from the sod along the outer edge of the bank here may be part of an external stone facing. The remnants of stone facing suggest that the original enclosing bank or wall may have had a width of c. 2m. At SW−N the inner face of the bank has been modified to a low, linear vertical scarp (H 0.45-0.5m) as a result of incorporation into a later field fence/wall, now partly removed. The external face of the bank is not clearly defined here but merges with the steep natural fall of the ridge slope. At N−NE the bank is overlain or truncated by a later field wall. There is a break or very low section (Wth 3m) of bank at W, and another at S but it is unclear if either represents an original entrance. Natural undulations on the ridge top give the effect of a slightly sunken or dished interior. Several shallow pits (dims. 2-5m), dug to extract bedrock, are evident in the ridge slope immediately downslope of the enclosure at NW and NE. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 28 April 2016