County: Clare Site name: Ballaghfadda West, Ennis
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 14E0106
Author: Graham Hull
Site type: Possible early medieval ringfort
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 533507m, N 673989m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.812775, -8.986334
Test trenching in advance of a potential crematorium development identified a circular ditched enclosure with an internal diameter of 40.2m and an external diameter of 46.7m on a level plateau. The ditch, as observed, was typically 3m wide and 0.85m deep with a gently concave profile. Given the deep ploughing recorded, it is likely that the monument has been truncated. This said, internal features in the form of pits, post-holes and a linear feature survive, also likely to have been truncated by ploughing. No artefacts were recovered and the monument cannot be absolutely dated. The enclosure might be prehistoric in date but, based on typology and the density of other probable early medieval monuments in the immediate vicinity, the most likely monument type is a ringfort.
TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, AHISH, BALLINRUAN, CRUSHEEN, CO. CLARE
