Lisnapreaghan — Esker North

Located in level, lowlying, poorly-drained pasture. Views are restricted by tree-lined field boundaries. This enclosure is named ‘Lisnapreaghan’ on the 1838 and 1930 OS 6-inch maps. Circular area (25.5m NW–SE; 25.8 NE–SW), not noticeably raised, enclosed by two shallow, flat-bottomed fosses (Wth 1.4-1.7m; D 0.3-0.45m) with an broad, flat-topped, intervening bank (Wth 5.3m, top 3.1-3.9m; int. H 0.85-1m; ext. H 0.95-1.1m). The bank appears uniform in width and height around its circuit, and both the inner and outer faces are cut quite vertically; the flat top of the bank appears almost like a raised encircling path. There is a gap (Wth 1.1m) at SSE, partly blocked at its outer edge by upcast from a later field ditch which merges with the external fosse at this point. The two fosses are similar in size and form, but the external fosse merges with field ditches bordering field banks which radiate at NW, N and S–SSE from the enclosure. The interior is level, rather soft and damp underfoot and is covered with grass and rushes. The bank is ringed with hawthorn, beech, sycamore, ash and hazel, which grow on the slopes of the bank but not on the top. This is an unusual enclosure. Except in size, it does not conform to the morphology of ringforts in this area, which mostly have an interior raised above surrounding field level. The internal fosse suggests a ritual function, and it may a ringbarrow or henge-type monument. However, the vertical sides of the bank and the merging of field ditches with the external fosse point to relatively recent modification, probably for drainage purposes or possibly adaptation as a tree-ring. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 20 December 2022