The term dún was usually used for any stronghold of importance, which may or may not be ring-shaped. In Ireland, over 40,000 sites have been identified as ringforts and it is thought that at least 50,000 ringforts existed on the island.
How many ringforts are there in Ireland?
A cloud of mystery looms over the ringforts that speckle the countryside of Ireland. More than 45,000 ringforts have been documented throughout Northern Europe and yet little is known about the date, occupancy, and function of these structures.
Where are ring forts found in the UK?
There are also many in South Wales and in Cornwall, where they are called rounds. Ringforts come in many sizes and may be made of stone or earth. Earthen ringforts would have been marked by a circular rampart (a bank and ditch), often with a stakewall.
Where are the best stone forts in Ireland?
Cashelore stone fort (below) in County Leitrim is located a short 15 minute drive from Sligo town and lends itself to a great excursion on a dry afternoon for the beautiful views of the Ox Mountains alone. Celtic Ireland- Cashelore stone fort, County Leitrim, Ireland.
How did the size of a ringfort depend on occupancy?
The size of the ringfort, some have claimed, is directly linked to the occupancy of the dwelling. The large ringforts would have housed those in a higher class of society while a cluster of smaller forts would have grown around the larger fort.
How many fairy forts are there in Ireland?
There are an estimated 60,000 fairy forts on the island, according to some, and if you ask anyone in the countryside, you're likely to be pointed to one within a few kilometres (in some areas, there's an average of one every two square kilometres).
What other names are there for ring forts?
While the term 'ringfort' dominates, other terms are also used such as rath, lios, caiseal and dun – rath and lios are normally used to describe monuments with earthen banks while caiseal (cashel) and dun are more generally used in relation to sites with stone-built enclosures.
Where is ringfort in Ireland?
Ballyallaban ringfortAlternative nameDoonLocationParish of Rathborney, the BurrenRegionIrelandCoordinates53.09005°N 9.158578°WHistory13 more rows
Are fairy forts protected in Ireland?
While the term 'fairy fort' has given these sites an ethereal veneer, it often belies the fact that they are significant part of our built heritage, protected by law and many larger forts are National Monuments.
How old are ring forts in Ireland?
Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland.
What is a fairy tree in Ireland?
The traditional Celtic folklore in Ireland tells that a lone Hawthorne tree growing in the middle of a field is called a fairy (or faerie) tree. This tree is the gateway or portal between the worlds of the mortals and the world of the faeries.
Who lived in ringforts?
Many people lived in enclosed farmsteads known as ringforts in the Early Christian/Early Medieval period. Second to fulachta fiadh, they are the most common field monument surviving in Ireland with up to 60,000 examples, most dating to between 550-900AD. Some however, such as Simonstown Co.
What is a rath in Ireland?
Noun. rath (plural raths) (historical) A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.
How many raths are there in Ireland?
With an estimated 45,000 examples, raths (also known as ringforts) represent the most common form of ancient monument in Ireland.
How old are Irish fairy forts?
As of 1991 there were between thirty and forty thousand identifiable fairy forts in Ireland's countryside, the oldest of them possibly dating back as early as 600 BCE.
Are fairies real in Ireland?
Are Fairies Real in Ireland? Fairies are very much alive and thriving here in Ireland. You may or may not be surprised to learn that, in Irish Culture, fairies are not just part of history and mythology. Belief in the 'Wee People' is still alive and kicking.
What is an Irish fairy ring?
In English and Celtic folklore, fairy rings were caused by fairies or elves dancing in a circle. It was said that if humans joined in the dance they would be punished by the fairies, and made to dance in the ring until they passed out from exhaustion.
What are the types of forts?
Types of ancient Indian fortsJala-durga (Water fort) ... Dhanvana- or Maru-durga (Desert Fort): Surrounded by an arid area of at least 5 yojanas (73 km).Giri-durga (Hill fort) ... Vana-durga (Forest fort): Surrounded by a dense forest over a distance of at least 4 kroshas (14.6 km). ... Mahi-durga (Earthen fort)More items...
What are fort walls called?
The walls of a fort located between two bastions. Along the bastions, the curtains comprise the main walls of the fort. Another name for the main walls of a fort is scarp.
What is a small fort called?
Larger military installations may be called fortresses; smaller ones were once known as fortalices. The word fortification can also refer to the practice of improving an area's defense with defensive works.
What is an Irish fairy fort?
Fairy forts (also known as lios or raths from the Irish, referring to an earthen mound) are the remains of stone circles, ringforts, hillforts, or other circular prehistoric dwellings in Ireland.
What are the features of Ringfort?
The bank when newly built would have had either a palisade of timber posts on top, a post and wattle fence, or a strong blackthorn or whitethorn hedge to make it difficult to breach. This was necessary to keep marauding animals such as wolves from attacking the family livestock. It also provided protection against cattle raiders. In regions with abundant stone a variant of the ringfort known as a cashel was built. It differs from the conventional ringfort in that it has a stone built enclosure instead of the more common earthen bank. They were usually sited on a rise on free draining soil. Often they have an underground chamber, referred to as a souterrain, located within the monument. These features are thought to have functioned as places of refuge as suggested by the various obstacles they have built into them in the form of drop holes and twists and bends within the monument. However, the majority were probably used as storage areas for perishable foods, functioning as cold rooms.
What is a Ringfort?
The ringfort is by far the most common archaeological monument found on the Irish landscape with over 45,000 examples recorded. It is given a general occupation date of between AD400 and AD1100 but was arguably still in use in the western Gaelic regions of Ireland as late as the seventeenth century. They are known at local community level under a variety of names such as, rath, lios, dan, caher and cashel. Though officially referred to as ringforts these monuments are not military forts but instead should be seen as enclosed farmsteads with some functioning as animal stockades. When one encounters a ringfort in the landscape it is useful to see it in the light of a modern farmyard enclosing its various components. The domestic dwelling, the principle structure found within the ringfort, and consisted of a round house of timber construction with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof. This was accompanied by a suite of other structures that included sheds, workshops, corn drying kilns and animal shelters.
What is a ringfort with one bank and ditch?
A ringfort with one bank and ditch is described as univallate, one with two banks and ditches as bivallate, one with three elements trivallate or multivallate. It is generally accepted that the more banks and ditches the monument has, the higher its status and is thus linked to the social status of its owner.
How does Ringfort differ from Ringfort?
It differs from the conventional ringfort in that it has a stone built enclosure instead of the more common earthen bank. They were usually sited on a rise on free draining soil. Often they have an underground chamber, referred to as a souterrain, located within the monument.
Is a Ringfort a military fort?
Though officially referred to as ringforts these monuments are not military forts but instead should be seen as enclosed farmsteads with some functioning as animal stockades. When one encounters a ringfort in the landscape it is useful to see it in the light of a modern farmyard enclosing its various components.
What was the Ringfort?
The ringfort was essentially a working farm. Within the enclosure were houses as well as livestock enclosures. The larger ringforts probably contained more than one family and were most likely the residences of wealthy people who might be considered nobles or kings.
What is the purpose of Ringforts?
While the ringforts did provide some protection for its inhabitants and for their cattle and crops in the surrounding countryside , the primary purpose of the structures was to impress other people . This was an outward expression of status in keeping with the hierarchical structure of the early medieval Irish society.
How did the top of the wall get to the top of the wall?
The top of the wall was reached by a series of steps which criss-cross against the inside of the wall.
Is there a re-created Ringfort?
At Craggaunowen there is a re-created ringfort that provides a fairly accurate picture of what a ringfort would have been like when it was occupied.
Is Caherconnel Ring Fort a tourist attraction?
The Caherconnel Ring Fort is one of about 500 ringforts in The Burren. It is on private land today and is run as both an archaeological centre and a tourist attraction. In 2010 the Caherconnel Archaeological Field School was established to carry out excavations at the cashel and its environs.
Where is the Ringfort in Dublin?
In fact, one of the most famous is very public, sat in the heart of Dublin Castle, though few locals would recognise it as such today. It’s thought that a ringfort originally defended the old joining point of the Liffey and Poddle rivers (the latter now underground, and the former relocated to a far narrower course by city development).
What were the residents of fairy forts called?
The ancient residents of fairy forts were the ‘good’ or ‘little’ people. Fairy forts vary dramatically. Some of them are extremely distinct spots, with firm raised outlines and ditches, and the markings of ancient residence still remarkably clear. Others are just the faintest of contours.
What is a fairy fort?
A fairy fort is an earthen dwelling, often called a ringfort, that dates back to ancient times, with the circular markings typically all that is left of the original site. There are hundreds of such sites around Ireland, and traditionally, they’re not to be messed with.
Is there a ringfort in Ireland?
There’s a modern tourism ringfort offering too, and it’s got nothing to do with Danny Healy-Rae. Irish National Heritage’s new park in County Wexford includes a full replica of a fairy fort, where you can drink ancient beer and mead and stay overnight in a rustic example of old-world accommodation, dressed for the part, and yourself becoming part of the attraction.
Why were the Ringforts important?
The palisades and shallow moats suggest that the ringforts were used for protection in agrarian communities. While they would not protect from full-scale war, the forts were enough protection from so-called “hit-and-run” raids on the cattle housed within the ring.
What is a Ringfort?
A ringfort is a general term for a circular space, which could sometimes be raised above the surrounding ground, and in other cases could be surrounded by a shallow ditch as a demarcation. The “ring” of the ringforts was a boundary which encompassed the dwelling or group of dwelling within. The ditch that surrounded the fort would have been fortified by a palisade of timber, a hedge, or a thick growth or trees and shrubs.
What kept fairy forts protected?
Accounts of missing livestock, trances, death, and other misfortune have kept the fairy forts protected for many years. However, a few brave historians and archaeologists are beginning to peel back the curtain and search for answers regarding these ancient structures.
What is the legend surrounding the Aughrim Wedge Tomb?
Since the forts were protected by magic, legend has it that death will come to anyone who so much as cuts the brush surrounding the fort. There are numerous myths surrounding the forts, that range from the distant past into our own day. In 1992, Sean Quinn ran into The Aughrim Wedge Tomb, and Irish ringfort in County Cavan, Ireland, while undergoing a massive quarry expansion.
