Embanked enclosure in Richmond

In pasture, located on an E-W gravel ridge with panoramic views; the skyline to SSW is dominated by Nephin Mountain, with the Nephin Beg range defining the horizon to W, the Ox Mountains to E, and Lough Con visible to SSE. This unusual and enigmatic ritual monument consists of a roughly circular, sunken or saucer-shaped area (31.6m N-S; c. 34m E-W; D of interior below bank c. 3m) enclosed by an earthen bank (Wth c. 2.6m, 1m at top; ext. H 0.5-0.8m). It occupies the full N-S width of the narrow ridge top. The bank has a fairly well-defined lip, which converges externally with the slope of the ridge; internally, it merges in a shallow slope with the sides and base of the sunken interior to produce a seamless concave profile. From the sunken centre of the enclosure the surrounding views are concealed: above the rising slope of the bank, one sees only the sky and, at the SSW, the conical summit of Nephin. At E−SSW the bank is incorporated into a property fence that respects the curve of the enclosure. The perimeter is ringed with gorse and scrub, especially dense where it coincides with the field fence; the interior is grassy. Immediately to W of the enclosure the level ridge top has been scarped to create a flat-topped rectangular area (19m E-W; 8m N-S; ext. H of scarp 1.1m at W), giving the impression of a platform appended to the embanked enclosure. It is not clear if this feature is contemporary with the enclosure. There is a rath (MA038-078----) 90m to E. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 7 December 2017