Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Rathmalode

Internal diam. 39.5m This densely-overgrown rath is located in wet pastureland on a S facing slope overlooking the valley of the Emlagh river. The interior is planted with coniferous trees and the hut-site and souterrain which occupied the centre of the interior have been interfered with considerably. It was reputedly from this souterrain that 2 ogham stones were removed for use as door-lintels in buildings in the adjacent townland of Lougher. The site is enclosed by an earthen bank and fosse and an outer bank which may be a later field boundary. The outer bank averages .9m in height externally, 1.5m in height internally and 2.4m in width at base. Along the W sector it is only faintly discernible. It is marked on the 2nd edition of the OS map as a field fence and this interpretation is supported by the fact that it continues across each of the possible entrances in the inner bank. The only gap in the outer bank occurs at S, in the vicinity of, but not opposite, 2 breaks in the inner bank. The fosse is 3m wide at base and rises 2.75m to the crest of the inner bank. It was formerly much deeper (local information). The inner bank is 1.6m high above the interior. It is not clear which of the 5 breaks in the bank represent the original entrance. Hut-site (KE045-035001-) and Souterrain (KE045-035002-): A curving earth and stone bank in the centre of the interior may represent the N half of a circular hut. It is 2.5m wide and .25m high. A considerable quantity of stone has been removed from this area in the past (local information). Directly S of this is a shallow depression which apparently marks the location of a small, stone-built souterrain (local information). Ogham stones: (1) (KE045-035003-) Hitchcock (1853, 401) discovered this stone acting as the lintel to a cottage door in Lougher townland and it is now preserved in the NMI. It formerly acted as a souterrain lintel in a rath in Rathmalode townland, and though Macalister (1945, 189) described the fort as small and erased, this is the only known ringfort in the townland and is therefore the probable provenance. The stone is .28m wide, .1m thick and at least 1.04m long. Its base, including the last 4 letters of the inscription, are concealed by the wooden base in which the stone now stands and Macalister's reading of this section could not be verified. However, the visible scores are all clearly legible and there is little disagreement in previous accounts as to the reading of the inscription: The V is followed by 1 or 2 vowel scores, but the stone is then fractured and the remainder of the final name is missing. (2) (KE045-035004-) Until recently this stone acted as the door lintel to an outhouse in Lougher townland and reputedly came from the rath in the adjoining townland of Rathmalode (Macalister 1945, 190-1). The Co. Kerry Field Club (1939) mention briefly the possibility that it came from a grave-site (KE045-110----) in Lougher townland, but their informant is now deceased and the information could not be verified. The stone is now in the possession of Oidhreacht Chorea Dhuibhne, Ballyferriter. It is 1.24m long, .34m wide and .1m thick. The stone is broken at one end and only 2 letters of the last name are visible. The inscription reads: ERCAVICCAS MAQI CO..... The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 520. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013