Cahermore ringfort () or sometimes ''Caher Mór'' or "Ballyallaban stone fort" is a
ringfort
Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...
south of
Ballyvaughan
Ballyvaughan or Ballyvaghan () is a small harbour village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located on the N67 road on the south shores of Galway Bay, in the northwest corner of The Burren. This position on the coast road and the close proximity ...
in
the Burren
The Burren ( ; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. area, in
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It is a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...
.
Location
The fort lies right next to the R480 road between the village of Ballyvaughan and
Leamaneh Castle
Leamaneh Castle is a ruined castle located in the townland of Leamaneh North, parish of Kilnaboy, between the villages of Corofin and Kilfenora at the border of the region known as the Burren in County Clare, Ireland. It consists of a 15th-ce ...
. It is located in the townland of Ballyallaban in the civil parish of Rathborney.
Description
The walls are up to 9 feet thick and 9 feet high, with two faces of large, well-fitted blocks with rubble filled in between. The lintel and building remains inside the fort are considered late medieval features. Next to the entryway are guard chambers, which could indicate that the former inhabitants were of high status.
The national monument number 648 actually consists of two separate forts: the stone fort of Cahermore and the nearby earthen
Ballyallaban ringfort
Ballyallaban ringfort () or sometimes ''An Rath'' ("The Rath") is an earthen ringfort south of Ballyvaughan in the Burren area, in County Clare, Ireland. It is a National Monument.
Location
The fort lies right next to the R480 road between the ...
.
Excavation
A limited excavation occurred after the lintel stone fell down in the late 1990s. A coin from 1690 was found.
According to the National Monuments Service: "Excavation (Licence no. 99E0506) in this area took place in June 1999 as the entranceway was blocked with rubble and the lintel had fallen across the entrance passage. The excavations revealed that the structures around the entrance were a 14th/15th-century addition to the pre-existing fort. A scallop shell from below the foundations was radiocarbon dated to AD 1308. The lintel was replaced and the entranceway was consolidated in 2001."
[http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/ Map link, information embedded]
References
Further reading
* Fitzpatrick, M., 2000, ''Cathair Mór, Ballyallaban''. In: I. Bennett (ed.), ''Excavations 1999: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland'', 12, No. 38. Bray. Wordwell.
* Fitzpatrick, M., 2001, ''Cahermore stone fort, Co. Clare: Survey and Excavation''. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 41, pp. 45-64.
* Westropp, T.J, 1901, ''Prehistoric remains in north-western Clare part II''. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 31, pp. 273-91.
External links
Information at Clare Library
{{Tourism in County Clare
Archaeological sites in County Clare
Forts in the Republic of Ireland
Former populated places in Ireland
National monuments in County Clare