Hillfort in Heathtown

This monument is described by Stout (1991, 259-63) as: This monument was first detected through aerial survey undertaken by Swan. It is situated on the exposed southern slope of a narrow ridge 1km west-north-west of the Fourknocks / Micknanstown enclosure (ME033-025----) and 700m to the west-south-west of Micknanstown (ME033-013----). Geology and soil type are similar to Fourknocks. The enclosure has been referred to as two separate sites: a ringfort, which has been incorporated into a field fence, and a mound (Hartnett 1957, 264). On the ground are two apparently unrelated segments of bank, but aerial photographs have shown these to be connected by a very low earthwork partly enclosing a large, oval, intensively cultivated area. Overall, the enclosure probably had a maximum north-west to south-east diameter of 200m. The enclosing bank, where preserved, tends to be flat-topped with a maximum height of 1.7m and an average width of 12m. The interior of the enclosure is again slightly dome-shaped. There is no evidence for a ditch associated with the enclosure. The field fence, which runs E-W across the centre of the monument, takes a pronounced bend around a circular depression in the interior of the enclosure. Hartnett (1957, 264) noted two circular areas, each 6m in diameter, which he believed to be house sites (within a ringfort) enclosed by the northern circuit of bank. (Hartnett 1957, 264. Thornton 1980, 92-3; Moore 1987, 40, No. 306) Date of revision: 10 January 2017 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 14/1976).