Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Cool

Internal diam. 24m SW-NE, 21.2m SSE-NNW One of a group of 4 univallate raths situated on the E side of Corrin Hill. The single earthen bank, now considerably gapped, varies in height from .3 to 1m internally on the downslope and upslope sides respectively and from 1.18m to .5m externally. It is c. 1.3 to 1.5m wide at base. There are intermittent traces of drystone revetment along its inner face, and some stones protruding through the slip on the outer face, in the SE sector, may indicate a similar feature here. A stony ledge directly inside the bank in the NW and N sectors probably results from collapse of the inner revetment. A 2m wide external fosse surrounds the bank in the NW sector only. Two diametrically opposed gaps at ENE and WSW measure 3.3m and 3m wide respectively. The interior slopes markedly downhill to SE. Directly inside the WSW entrance gap are the very disturbed remains of one or more huts. For the most part the stones from these have been robbed leaving an irregular quarried hole c. 10m long ENE-WSW x c. 5m wide. At the E end of this a few stones of the inner face of 1 hut, c. 3 to 4m in diameter, are still preserved in situ and its entrance at ENE is lined by a single course of masonry. The W end of the quarry may have housed an annex or a 2nd hut but the area is too disturbed to be certain. A line of 2 boulders set on edge between the W end of this and the gap in the ringfort bank may be part of an entrance feature to the huts. About 50 to 60m to NE are the ruined and grass-grown remains of a hut with a 2nd hut or annex attached to its W side. The E hut is roughly circular in plan and measures c. 3.6m in internal diameter and the NE facing entrance gap measures 1.3m in width. The W hut or annex is less well-defined. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 368. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 6 August 2013