It’s not uncommon to see ringforts dotted across the Irish landscape. But what do we know about these ancient structures?
Top Facts About Irish Ringforts
It’s estimated that there are over 45,000 ringforts in Ireland, making them the most common ancient monument found on the island.
A ringfort is an ancient circular fortification of earth or stone, surrounded by a raised earthen embankment and a ditch or moat. Most of them measured about 60 meters in diameter.
Ringforts were most likely home to just one family. The ringfort enclosed a main building or farmhouse. Other buildings inside the walls were used for storing food and keeping valuable cattle safe. Inhabitants and visitors had to cross a ditch that surrounded the ringfort to get inside through a gap in the bank. A wooden gate kept the entrance closed when necessary.
Ringforts were typical dwelling places of the nobles and "strong farmers." They were used to protect small settlements consisting of a family, their workers and livestock against raids. The inhabitants were largely self-sufficient.
Ringforts date from the Early Christian/Early Medieval period from as early as the 5th century AD. Some were occupied until as late as the 13th century AD.
Traditionally, ringforts were believed to be ritual sites or associated with supernatural forces, such as fairies or 'wee folk' in Ireland.
Ringforts go by many other names: In the Irish language, ringforts are also known as raths or lios. Rath was the enclosing bank (as in the name Rathgurreen), A lios was the open space within the walls. Cashels or cahers derive from the Welsh, Cornish and Breton and designate a ringfort made of stone. Dún comes from the Welsh and Cornish is a term for any stronghold of importance.
Among the most visited ringforts in Ireland are: Dún Aonghasa, perched high on a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean on Aran Island. Caherconnell, near Poulnabrone in the Burren, Rathgurreen on the Maree Peninsula and Navan Fort, in Northern Ireland.
The Hill of Tara was the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland. It's an ancient ceremonial and burial site with raths or rings. However, these royal sites throughout Ireland are considered mainly ceremonial.
At Caherconnell in the Burren, Ireland’s oldest pen was discovered.
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