Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballyduff

In pasture 60m W of the River Aherlow that marks the townland boundary with Anglesborough. Castle (LI057-005----) lies 160m to the W. Depicted on the 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map as a circular enclosure. It is shown on the 1897 ed. OSi 25-inch map as an oval-shaped area (dims. c. 32m NE-SW; 26m NE-SW) enclosed by a bank. The monument was excavated by R.M. Cleary in 1979 (1980, 3-7) who summariesd her findings as follows; ‘Before excavation the earthwork appeared as a single bank-and-ditch enclosure, oval in plan and measuring 43m N-S, 48m E-W externally. The bank was up to 1.5m in height and the ditch was a maximum of 1.5m in depth. Traces of a second bank were detected when a section was cut through the bank at the south. In the north-western section of the enclosure there was a gap 7m in length (NW-SE) and 3.2m wide. The fosse had been cut across this area but was in-filled with boulders, now sod covered; the bank there was banked with rounded ends and appeared to form the sides of an entrance. However local information suggests this may not in fact have been the original entrance, but rather, a way into the enclosure which had been constructed in the early 1950s. The following surface irregularities were noticed before excavation Feature 1. A crescent-shaped low ridge within the north-western quadrant of the enclosure. Its maximum internal width was 2m and the external width 5m (NE-SW). This was partially excavated and described below. Feature 2. A low mound, 1.50m in diameter, in the north-western quadrant, within an area that was apparently covered with slip from the bank. Feature 3. A crescent-shaped low ridge adjacent to the south-western section of the bank. This was 7m in width (NE-SW) and the enclosed space was about 1.2m across. Feature 4. A low horseshoe-shaped bank in the eastern part of the enclosure. The area within it was slightly raised and about 4m across (W-E). Feature 5. A stone-lined drain, about 75cm in width, built into the bottom of the ditch face on the eastern side. Since the ditch was continually water-logged it may be that it was constructed to carry water from the ditch and the site in general. Feature 6. Visible as a slight 9m. wide rise in the level of the ditch in the north-western quadrant. A depression in the bank occurred at this point. It is possible that this feature taken in conjunction with the depression in the bank, represents the original entrance to the enclosure but, unfortunately, circumstances did not allow its excavation. Excavation was concentrated in the western side of the earthwork, that which was nearest the road. This area was laid out in a quadrant system and it was possible to excavate three areas, namely Quadrants 1a, 1b and 2a, a total area of about 170 metres square. Bank and Ditch A cutting 1.6m wide and 17.2m long was excavated through the southern part of the earthwork. The sectional profile indicated a second, outer, bank. The internal bank was 1.1m high and 4.2m wide at this point. It was built directly on the original turf line (layer 2) which was apparent as a 15-20cm thick band of dark greyish-brown soil on top of the undisturbed boulder clay. The bank consisted of redeposited boulder clay (layers 3-4) and a sod-cover (Layer 5). Layer 3 was charcoal flecked while layer 4 was not. Layer 6, on the outer edge of the bank, was a mixture of redeposited boulder clay and stony humic clay and probably represents slip from the bank. A shallow drain was cut into the inside edge of the bank. This was 20cm deep and up to 80cm wide and may have been dug to catch run-off from the bank and thus keep the interior of the enclosure dry. Layers 7-12 represents silting-up of the ditch which was flat-bottomed. The ditch was 2.6m in width at its bottom and 1.5m in depth below the original ground level. The bottom layer (layer 7) was a grey clay silt which varied from 15-40cm in thickness. Above this, on the northern side, was layer 8 which was similar to layer 6 above, a mixture of redeposited boulder and stony humic clay, and likewise probably represented slip from the bank. Later 9 was a clay silt. Layer 10 was a mixture of redeposited boulder and stony humic clay, probably derived from the counter scarp bank to the south. Layer 11, also on the S side, was redeposited boulder clay. Layer 12 was a silt clay. From the above description of the ditch fill, it appears that the silting of the ditch occurred in five separate phases. The counter scarp bank lay directly on the old turf line and was 2.5m wide. It appeared to have been levelled on top and only survived as a 20-30cm thick layer (layer 13) of redeposited boulder clay similar to layer 4 of the main bank. The slip from the counter scarp bank (layer 14) formed a shallow, round bottomed feature, 2.2m wide. Quadrant 1b This area produced the main evidence for activity within the excavated areas of the ringfort. A trench, which varied in width from 0.5m-2m occurred on the S, W and N sides of the cutting. This was filled with humus and small boulders, and has been tentatively interpreted as a house foundation trench. Within this was a hearth site. It consisted of a circular spread of oxidised soil, 80cm in diam. Five post-holes and fifteen stake-holes were recorded in and around the hearth-site. Quadrant 1a The main feature within the area was a hearth-site, about 30cm in diameter, apparent as a spread of oxidised soil surrounded by a large spread of charcoal-flecked humus. Quadrant 2a A roughly-set paving composed of small flat boulders was recorded in the southern part of this area. Two more closely-set cobbled areas were recorded on the north-western and south-western sides of the paving. These paved and cobbled areas were visible prior to excavation as a low ridge (Feature 1). Similar features outside the limit of the excavation i.e. Features 3 and 4, may perhaps also be paved areas, or even stone-built structures. The site did not produce any finds and there was no indication of date. The evidence from the partially excavated quadrants, however, suggests there was occupation of some type within the enclosure at Ballyduff The monument is visible today as a circular shaped enclosure to the immediate E of the R513 roadway on Digital Globe orthoimage taken between 2011-13 and on Google Earth orthoimages. See attached Google Earth orthoimages and site plan taken from Cleary 1979. Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick Date of upload: 21 November 2021