Hut site in Rathduff (rathconrath By.)

Situated on the E-facing shoulder of a hill, in reasonably good pasture. Not depicted as an antiquity on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps. Shown as an area of rock outcrop on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch where it is depicted as a narrow rectangular shaped area defined by a townland boundary from SW-W-N and by a low earth and stone bank elsewhere. Along the NW side of this area of rock outcrop the townland boundary with Irishtown kicks out in a semi-circular fashion following the outline of a sub-circular shaped enclosure (WM017-018----). Site consists of a sub-circular shaped area defined by the remains of a stone wall visible from SW-W-N where it forms the townland boundary with Irishtown and elsewhere by an earth and stone bank with traces of an external fosse. The townland boundary at NW has a distinct angle. The interior is subdivided by low earthen banks creating small rectangular and sub-rectangular shaped plots which are clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial coverage. The internal subdivisions are more fragmented across the W half of the interior and incorporate a small circular shaped hut site (approx. diam. 10m) at NW which is defined by a low earth and stone. Cultivation ridges running NE-SW are visible in fields immediately to E and S. It is possible that some of these earthworks could be the result of post-medieval quarrying as the site is located on natural rock outcrop. The remains of two larger rectangular-shaped enclosures are located in field 45m to E which may be related to the larger circular shaped enclosure. Possibly the remains of a small clustered settlement contained within a circular-shaped enclosure. See attached image of hut site from Google Earth taken 24/03/2017 . Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 28 November 2018