Ballyallaban ringfort
Photo: Joseph Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ringfort - rath

Ballyallaban ringfort

An Rath

Earthen ringfort in County Clare, Ireland.

  • AccessNot confirmed
  • National MonumentNot recorded
  • DateNot stated
  • FolkloreNone recorded
  • PhotoWikimedia Commons
Ballyallaban, Co. Clare53.09010, -9.15863
Directions Map

Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer

At a glance

  • TypeRingfort - rath
  • Recorded sizeint. H 2m at E to 2.5m at SW; ext. H 3.6m at E to 4.7m at SW; W 5.5m at N to 7.2m at E

What to look for

  • Bank and ditch
  • Entrance gap

Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.

Can you visit?

  • No source says it is open to the public.Most monuments in Ireland stand on private farmland.
  • Ask the landowner before crossing fields, close gates, leave the stones as you find them.Visiting responsibly
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History and description

On the N slope of a ridge in a slightly raised area with commanding views except to S and SSW.

Full archaeological record 177 words

On the N slope of a ridge in a slightly raised area with commanding views except to S and SSW. A well-preserved circular rath (int. diam. 37.2 N-S; 37.5m E-W) defined by an impressive steep inner bank (int. H 2m at E to 2.5m at SW; ext. H 3.6m at E to 4.7m at SW; Wth 5.5m at N to 7.2m at E), a flat-bottomed waterlogged fosse (Wth 2m at SW to 5m at N) and an outer bank (int. H 1.4-1.8m; ext. H 0.8m; Wth 4-5m) surviving only along the W and from NW to NE. The inner bank is partly faced with stone internally and has entrance (Wth 1m) at NE with a causeway (Wth 5m) across the fosse. Other breaks occur in the inner bank, notably at NW. Mature trees grow on the outer edge of the internal bank. A later field wall is built on the line of the outer bank at NE for a short stretch. An Rath is a national monument in State care, no. 648. (Westropp 1901, 284; 1915, 249-50)

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Mary Tunney · Updated 27 May 2015. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

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      Around Ballyallaban ringfort

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      Recorded within 5 km

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