Square Ringforts? A Contribution to the Identification of ‘Ringfort’ Types

Abstract

ONGOING DISCUSSIONS of the monuments commonly referred to as ‘ringforts’ in Ireland include the definition and investigation of specific types of these enclosures. Rectilinear, or subsquare, enclosures comprise one such type, with examples identifiable in the well-preserved archaeological landscape of the Burren (Co Clare) in western Ireland. It is also possible to extend such identification into the counties of the western seaboard, from Co Cork in the south to Co Donegal in the north. Questions of chronology, function, status, and cultural identity are addressed. Although a measure of variation may exist within the category of rectilinear enclosures, there is some uniformity of morphology and chronology and, perhaps, function.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the Heritage Council of Ireland, who funded initial phases of survey in the Burren, and the Royal Irish Academy, who supported the excavation of the rectilinear cashel. All excavation in Caherconnell townland was made possible by the support of John Davoren and family, who own the land. An anonymous donation to the discipline of Archaeology at National University of Ireland, Galway facilitated the completion of the survey work. Some of the images were provided by Joe Fenwick, Dr Paul Naessens and Dr Noel McCarthy. The author also wishes to thank the referees for their constructive suggestions.

Résumé

Des forts circulaires carrés? Une contribution à l’identification des types de fort circulaire par Michelle Comber

Les monuments couramment dénommés « forts circulaires », en Irlande, continuent à susciter des discussions en ce qui concerne notamment la définition de types spécifiques et l’étude de ces enceintes. On distingue entre autres un type particulier d’enceinte rectiligne, plus ou moins carrée, avec des exemples identifiables dans le paysage archéologique bien conservé du Burren, dans l’ouest de l’Irlande. Il est également possible d’élargir cette identification aux comtés du littoral occidental, du comté de Cork au sud, jusqu’au Donegal au nord. Les questions de chronologie, de rôle, de statut et d’identité culturelle sont évoquées. Bien qu’il puisse y avoir des variations au sein de la catégorie d’enceintes rectilignes, on peut discerner une certaine uniformité en termes de morphologie et de chronologie et, éventuellement, de rôle.

Zussamenfassung

Quadratische Ringforts? Ein Beitrag zur Identifikation von “Ringfort”-Typen von Michelle Comber

Zur laufenden Auseinandersetzung mit den in Irland gemeinhin als „Ringforts “bezeichneten Monumenten zählt auch die Definition und Erforschung spezifischer Anlagentypen. Geradlinige oder nahezu quadratische Anlagen stellen einen solchen Typ dar, und Beispiele dafür finden sich in der archäologisch gut erhaltenen Landschaft des Burren in Westirland. Die Identifikation dieses Anlagentyps lässt sich auch auf die Grafschaften der Westküste ausdehnen, von Co. Cork im Süden bis zu Co. Donegal im Norden. Fragen zu Chronologie, Funktion, Status und kultureller Identität werden diskutiert. Innerhalb der Kategorie der geradlinigen Anlagen mag es zwar gewisse Variationen geben, Morphologie, Chronologie und eventuell auch Funktion weisen jedoch ein gewisses Maß an Einheitlichkeit auf.

Riassunto

Forti ad anello quadrati? Un contributo per l’identificazione dei tipi di ‘forti ad anello’ di Michelle Comber

I dibattiti in corso riguardo ai monumenti comunemente denominati ‘forti ad anello’ in Irlanda comprendono la definizione e la ricerca di tipi specifici di questi terreni cintati. Uno di questi tipi è formato da recinzioni rettilinee o sottoquadro, con esempi identificabili nel ben conservato paesaggio archeologico della regione del Burren nell’Irlanda occidentale. Si può anche estendere questa classificazione alle contee della fascia costiera occidentale, da quella di Cork a sud a quella di Donegal a nord. Vengono prese in considerazione questioni riguardanti la cronologia, la funzione, lo status e l’identità culturale. Nonostante ci possano essere in parte delle variazioni entro la categoria delle recinzioni rettilinee, esiste una certa uniformità morfologica e cronologica e, forse, funzionale.

Notes

2 Early medieval period in Ireland is from the 5th to 12th century ad.

3 Edwards 1990, 14.

4 Westropp 1902; Gibson 1990.

5 Wakeman 1848, 37-47.

6 Westropp 1896, 7.

7 Wakeman 1848, 37-47.

8 Westropp 1896; 1902.

9 Macalister 1928, 160.

10 Evans and Gaffikin 1935.

11 Ó Ríordáin 1942.

12 Ibid, 29 and 30.

13 Davies 1947.

14 de Paor and de Paor 1958, 79.

15 Proudfoot 1961, 94.

16 Harbison 1970, 10.

17 Lynn 1975, 29.

18 Edwards 1990.

19 Stout 1997.

20 Kerr 2007.

21 Kinsella 2010.

22 Ibid, 126.

23 Fitzpatrick 2009, 271.

24 Naessens and O’Conor 2012, 267.

25 Eg Kerr et al 2009; O’Sullivan et al 2014.

26 O’Sullivan et al 2014, 47-138.

27 Stout 1997, 98.

28 Comber 2006, 43.

29 Gibson 1990.

30 Ibid, 241-304.

31 Comber and Hull 2010.

32 Westropp 1902, 583.

33 Gibson 1990, 271.

34 Ibid, 301-3.

35 Comber 1999.

36 Kelly 1988, 65.

37 Power et al 1994, 182.

38 Kinsella 2010.

39 Laing 1975, 91. See, for example the 3rd-century Romano-British settlement at Dunston’s Clump, Nottinghamshire, where a subrectangular ditch enclosed a number of rectangular timber buildings (Welch 1992, 39).

40 Hogg 1966; Richards 1986; Smith 1999.

41 Richards 1986, 84.

42 Baynes 1908; 1930.

43 Ibid; Yates and Longley 2004, 30.

44 Williams 1923, 87–113; Hogg 1966, 37; Fasham et al 1998.

45 Ibid, 37.

46 Richards 1986, 89.

47 Clinton 2001, 89-95.

48 Seaver 2010, 266.

49 Eight such examples are listed by O’Sullivan et al 2014, 108-9.

50 Lynn 1978, 33-7; 1994, 93.

51 Comber and Hull 2010; Comber 2014-18.

52 Noonan et al 2004.

53 Kinsella 2010, 120.

54 Noonan et al 2004.

55 Kinsella 2010, 112.

56 Kerr et al 2009, 74.

57 Clinton 2001, 89-95.

58 Lynn 1978.

59 Lynn 1994.

60 Ibid, 93.

61 Ó Ríordáin and Foy 1941; Ó Ríordáin 1949.

62 Fitzpatrick 2009, 284.

63 Ibid, 300-1.

64 Comber and Hull 2010.

65 Irish Sites and Monuments Record number CL009-059064.

66 Reynolds 2003; Hamerow 2012, 72-83.

67 Hamerow 2012, 88-90.

68 McKerracher 2018, 39.

69 Hogg 1966, 37.

70 Richards 1986, 87.

71 Hamerow 2002, 82-3.

72 Kinsella 2010, 120.

73 Hogg 1966, 37.

74 Ibid, 33.

75 Kinsella 2010, 90.

76 Richards 1986, 84.

77 Hogg 1966, 33-5.

78 ‘local epithets’, RCAHMW 1937, xxxvi.

79 E.g. Meyer 1901; Dillon 1977; Ó Cathasaigh 1984; Jackson 1953, 155; Richards 1960.

80 Charles-Edwards 2000, chapters 4-10.

81 Byrne 2001, 7-27.