County: Louth Site name: KNOCKNAGORAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LH005-007 Licence number: 04E0515
Author: Kieran Campbell
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 713714m, N 815962m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.080206, -6.262164
Monitoring took place on various dates during groundworks for a house immediately to the northeast of a site listed as 'enclosure possible' in the RMP but known locally as a 'fairy fort'. The enclosure has an irregular oval plan, 40m by 32m, and is surrounded by a stone-faced bank c. 1.2m wide and 0.6–0.9m high. There is a protected entrance on the north-east side. The bank and much of the interior is covered in bracken.
The OS maps indicate a pathway through the enclosure and passing around two sides of the development site. This is a 'mass path', which led ultimately down to the church at Omeath. The lane still survives where it passes along the south side of the development site but is completely overgrown between the stone walls which bound it. The entrance to the new house was broken at right angles through the mass path. The lane has been removed in the south-west corner of the site where it led to the enclosure. Topsoil was removed over a 28m2 area exposing orange/brown gravel subsoil with frequent boulders, ranging from 0.5–2.2m in size. Several sherds of brown-and-white-glazed earthenware were found in topsoil.
6 St Ultan's, Laytown, Drogheda, Co. Louth
