Castle — ringwork in Pollardstown

On a narrow gravel ridge and levelled in the course of gravel extraction. A rougly circular (est. ext. diam. c. 80m), raised area was enclosed by an earthen bank, a deep external fosse and a second, outer bank. Limited archaeological excavation (Fanning 1973-4, 251-61) produced iron objects (including horseshoe nails, blades, an arrowhead, a buckle and a stirrup) which were interpreted as suggesting the monument was constructed and occupied between the 12th and 14th-century; although it was acknowledged that several finds might date to the 15th-century. While both Fanning (op. cit.) and O'Conor (1998, 35) interpret the monument as a possible ringwork castle, Fitzpatrick (2009, 282) argues that this interpretation ignores the possibility of the native Irish occupying a rath and sharing the material culture of the colonist, or, of incoming manorial tenants occupying an existing rath. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 17 April 2012