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Cahermorris Origional Irish Spelling - Area - 501 acres Meaning - The circular stone fort of Morris Map
A view along the remaining 1/3 of the boundry wall
of the fort that Cahermorris is named after History A Stone fort or ring fort is an early medieval farmstead enclosed by a roughly circular drystone wall or earthen bank. Sometimes more than one bank or wall is present, giving rise to the labels uni-vallate, bi-vallate and tri-vallate (denoting one bank or wall; two Banks or walls etc). Though the name includes the element 'fort', these dwelling-places were not designed for defence: rather the role of the bank or wall was to give shelter and security to the family, its livestock and their possessions. The scale and complexity of the bank(s) or wall(s) may also have served as an indicator of the occupier's status, much in the same way as the size of one's front garden is an index of wealth in our own society. | ||
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The
ring fort is the most common field monument in the island of Ireland.
A recent count by Matthew Stout calculated that there are at least
45,000 examples. Their distribution is widespread, generally preferring
well-drained lowland locations and avoiding peatlands and uplands.
In the western parts of Ireland, where stony soils and rock outcrops
are plentiful, large numbers of ring forts were built of stone (Stone
Fort) (hence 'caher') rather than earth (hence 'rath'). |
Only about 250 Irish ring forts have so far been subjected to archaeological excavation. The radiocarbon determinations from these excavations are remarkably consistent, indicating that the main period of ringfort construction and use was from AD c.500 to c.1000. However, as the majority of the ringforts excavated to date are from eastern parts of Ireland, these dates may not represent a complete picture. Structural and documentary evidence from the west of Ireland suggest that ringfort occupation if not construction continued well into late medieval times (13th -15th C.) in places like Cahermorris.
What is distinctive about this fort in Cahermorris is the skilful use of drystone in its construction. Though some fine examples of earthen ringforts do occur, the vast majority are built exclusively of angular limestone blocks and slabs. Amongst these stone forts or cahers, are some superb examples of the stonemason's craft: Only one third of the permiter wall of this stone fort in Cahermorris remains as the rest was removed some years ago as part of land reclaimation. |
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Ringforts
such as this would have been home to a large extended family group.
Today, all that is generally visible at ring forts are the enclosing
banks or walls: the original
houses and outbuildings in the interior were most built of perishable
materials (wood, wattle, straw). However, there is generally
an entrance gap (usually on eastern side) |
Ringforts
are also known as ráth, caiseal, cathair and dún. A ráth (anglicised
rath), was made of earth, caiseal (northwestern Ireland, anglicised
cashel) and cathair (southwestern Ireland) were built of stone.
A dun is a more prestigious site, the seat of some kind of ruler,
the term is applied to promontory forts which are defensive structures
located above a steep cliff. Features Parish Townlands Bordering it - Cluiderevagh, Bunnahevellymore, Bunnahevellybeg, Bunatober |
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