Partially hachured — Cush

In rough pasture, in N quadrant of an archaeological complex (LI048-034006/042-) located on the 'Supposed Site of Temair Erann', which was the ancient cemetery of the Ernai tribe on Slievereagh (Sliabh Riabhach) (Westropp 1919, 9; Westropp 1917-19, 179; Westropp 1918, 111). The ringfort stands inside a large field system (LI048-034001-), standing between two ringforts (LI048-034007/037-). Listed as Ringfort No. 9 in the ‘Northern Group’ of forts excavated by Ó Ríordáin (1940, 130-1) between 1934-5, who described it as ; 'The earthwork marked as No. 9 is for convenience called a fort but a "section excavated across it showed that it had not at any time been complete. The section revealed a few post-holes but gave no evidence that there had been any enclosing fosse or palisade. The reason for No. 9 must therefore be the desire to connect up Nos. 8 and 10 and to provide some protection for the area below the connecting earthwork. A fosse and bank in the form of an arc of a circle were therefore built, running into the fosse of Ring-Fort 8 [LI048-034037-] at the one end and into that of No. 10 [LI048-034007-] at the other. The building of this bank and fosse we must connect with the fact that the eastern, upper sides of Forts 8 and 10 were more complex as to defence than were the other parts of their circumference. From this fact we may conclude that the connecting arc of Fort 9 was constructed at the same time as the defences of Nos. 8 and 10 were strengthened on the east. An arc of a circle does not give much help for "defence," properly so called, and it is doubtful if these additions to the earthworks were ever intended for this purpose but rather for the simpler one of helping the earlier fosses (then perhaps silted up and not easy of clearance) to drain off the wash of water from the hillside above. That this may be the correct solution is suggested by the present day appearance of the site, the land below the earthworks being quite dry while that above is damp; bracken grows on the former while rushes are the characteristic vegetation of the latter'. The curving arc of this earthwork is visible from NW-SE on Digital Globe orthoimage taken between 2011-13 and on Google Earth orthoimages. See attached plan from Ó Ríordáin and Google Earth orthoimages. Compiled by: Fiona Rooney Date of upload: 25 August 2021