Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Shanid Lower

In pasture, on SSE-facing slope immediately below brow of hill. Circular area (43.7m N-S; 45.6m E-W) enclosed by three concentric earth-and-stone banks with intervening fosses. Inner bank (int. H 1.9m; ext. H 4.5m), covered with gorse on sheer external face, is denuded by cattle NW->NNW. Middle bank (int. H 2m; ext. H 1m) has traces of stone facing atop external face along S arc. Outer bank (ext. H 0.65), best preserved SE->W, does not survive W->NW and NNE->ESE. Inner fosse (Wth 3.7m) is waterlogged with a rough causeway across it at SE matched by a gap in inner (Wth 5m) and middle (Wth 2.9m) banks. Outer fosse (Wth 1.4m; D 0.5m) is very shallow and survives only where outer bank is present. Interior, under pasture, slopes down to SE. There is a roughly circular rise (10m N-S x 8.2m E-W; H 0.4m) just SW-of-centre, and a sub-rectangular area (11.6m NW-SE x 5.9m E-W) enclosed by a low earth-and-stone bank (H 0.3m) to NE-of-centre. Field boundary clips line of outer bank W->NW. Earth-and-stone bank (H 0.6m), on E-W axis, abuts outer bank at ESE. Remains of a similar low linear bank run down-slope further to NE. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 26 August 2011