Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Carha

In undulating pasture, on a rise. A raised circular area (33m NNE-SSW) enclosed by an earthen bank and an external fosse. The bank (Wth 7.5m; int. H 1.4m; ext. H 2.9m) has traces of possible internal stone revetment. A small section of the external slope of the bank at NNW has been quarried away. There is an entrance (Wth 2.6m) which is partially stone-faced at SE with a causeway across fosse. The wide flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 4m; D 1.4m) is evident SSW-SSE. There is a possible souterrain (SL025-054002-) in the NW quadrant of the interior and a scarp (H 0.5m) in the SE quadrant, extending c. 10m to WSW from the bank and terminating at an arc of sod-covered stones (c. 3.7m E-W). A low rise (Wth 3m; ext. H 0.45m) is evident outside the fosse at SE may be the remains of an outer bank though there is no other evidence of such. Hawthorn bushes grow on the external slope of the bank, otherwise the rath is grass-covered. There is a quarry pit c. 20m to S with an adjacent roughly circular raised area (diam. 7.5m; int. H 1.2m; ext. H 0.7m) defined by an irregular earthen bank lined internally with slabs. According to local information, this is the remains of a clay kiln. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008