Mountfortescue Hillfort

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Mountfortescue Hillfort

Ráth Chnoc Réisc

Shown within Ireland

Location| Mountfortescue,
County Meath, Ireland
Coordinates| 53°45′43″N 6°34′34″W﻿ / ﻿53.762048°N 6.576048°W﻿ / 53.762048; -6.576048
Type| Ringditch, Tumulus, Hillfort
Area| 2.12 hectares (5.2 acres) (ringfort)
Diameter| 164 metres (179 yd) (ringfort)
History
Material| Earth
Founded| AD 500–1000
Periods| Middle Ages
Designation| National Monument

Mountfortescue Hillfort is a National Monument consisting of a hillfort with tumuli located in County Meath, Ireland.[1]

## Location[edit]

Mountfortescue Hillfort is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Slane Castle and overlooks the Delvin River, a Boyne tributary.

## Description[edit]

A hillfort is a circular area surrounding a hilltop tumulus (barrow mound), defined by an earthen bank with an external ditch.[2]

The Ordnance Survey records a circular enclosure (about 180 yards in diameter) with a mound at the Mountfortescue site.[1] The archaeological monument consists of Mountfortescue Ringditch, Tumulus & Hillfort.[3] The barrow cemetery at Slieve Breagh and excavation of a Neolithic settlement suggest the area had been a scene of activity throughout prehistory.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Ó Ríordáin, Seán P. (1956). "Small Hill-Fort and Tumulus on Mountfortescue". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 86 (1): 106–107. JSTOR 25509239.
2. ^ "ME00606 - MOUNTFORTESCUE - Hillfort". MeathHeritage.com.
3. ^ "County Meath (Province of Leinster) [section]". Archeological Monuments of Ireland.
4. ^ O'Halpin, Andy; Newman, Conor (2006). Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 338. ISBN 0192880578.

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