Ardagh Fort

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Ardagh Fort
Lios Ardach
Ardagh chalice.jpg
The Ardagh Chalice, buried at Ardagh Fort c. 1740
Ireland adm location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Ireland
Alternative nameReerasta Rath, Ravenstar Fort, Ardagh Ringfort [1]
LocationReerasta South, Ardagh,
County Limerick, Ireland
Region Shannon Valley
Coordinates 52°29′37″N9°04′05″W / 52.493580°N 9.068153°W / 52.493580; -9.068153 Coordinates: 52°29′37″N9°04′05″W / 52.493580°N 9.068153°W / 52.493580; -9.068153
Altitude103 m (338 ft)
Type ringfort
Diameter62 m (203 ft)
History
Materialearth
Founded1000 BC
PeriodsBronze/Iron Age
Cultures Gaelic Ireland
Site notes
OwnershipState
Official nameArdagh Ringfort
Reference no.459 [2]

Ardagh Fort is a ringfort (rath) and National Monument in County Limerick, Ireland, famous as the discovery site of the Ardagh Hoard.

Contents

Location

Ardagh Fort is located immediately west of the crossroads at Ardagh, atop a hill 103 m (338 ft) above sea level, overlooking the Daar River. [3]

History

The hillfort dates to the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, c. 1000 BC.[ citation needed ]

In late September 1868 two local boys, Jimmy Quin and Paddy Flanagan, [4] were digging potatoes at the southwest edge of the fort [5] — farmers often avoided forts, believing them to be abodes of the Aos Sí (fairies), but they may have chosen the site in the belief that it would protect against potato blight. There, they discovered the Ardagh Hoard: a beautiful silver and gold chalice, a stemmed copper-alloy cup, and four brooches, all from the 8th or 9th centuries AD. There was also a wooden cross from the Penal era: it bore the inscription "727", presumably short for "1727", and the goods may have been concealed c. 1740. Catholic Mass is said to have been said at the rath in the penal era. [6] [7]

Description

A rath with a high bank and deep ditch to the north and south; the east and west walls were never built. It covers 0.3 ha (34 acre). [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ardagh Hoard Hoard of metalwork

The Ardagh Hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice, is a hoard of metalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries. Found in 1868 by two young local boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, it is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. It consists of the chalice, a much plainer stemmed cup in copper-alloy, and four brooches — three elaborate pseudo-penannular ones, and one a true pennanular brooch of the thistle type; this is the latest object in the hoard, and suggests it may have been deposited around 900 AD.

Ringfort Circular fortified settlements found in Northern Europe

Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales and in Cornwall, where they are called rounds. Ringforts come in many sizes and may be made of stone or earth. Earthen ringforts would have been marked by a circular rampart, often with a stakewall. Both stone and earthen ringforts would generally have had at least one building inside.

Derrynaflan Chalice 8th- or 9th-century chalice

The Derrynaflan Chalice is an 8th- or 9th-century chalice that was found as part of the Derrynaflan Hoard of five liturgical vessels. The discovery was made on 17 February 1980 near Killenaule, County Tipperary in Ireland. According to art historian Michael Ryan the hoard "represents the most complex and sumptuous expression of the ecclesiastical art-style of early-medieval Ireland as we know it in its eighth- and ninth-century maturity." The area known as Derrynaflan is an island of pastureland surrounded by bogland, which was the site of an early Irish abbey. The chalice was found with a composite silver paten, a hoop that may have been a stand for the paten, a liturgical strainer and a bronze basin inverted over the other objects. The group is among the most important surviving examples of Insular metalwork. It was donated to the Irish State and the items are now on display in the National Museum of Ireland.

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References

  1. Redknap, Mark (1 January 2001). Pattern and Purpose in Insular Art: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Insular Art Held at the National Museum & Gallery, Cardiff 3-6 September 1998. Oxbow. ISBN   9781842170588 via Google Books.
  2. "National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship" (PDF). National Monuments Service. 4 March 2009. p. 6.
  3. Academy, Royal Irish (1 January 1917). "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Mathematical, astronomical, and physical science". The Academy via Google Books.
  4. "Memorial to Ardagh Chalice to be unveiled - Limerick Leader". Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  5. Anderson, John P. (1 January 2010). Joyce's Finnegans Wake: The Curse of Kabbalah. Universal-Publishers. ISBN   9781599428581 via Google Books.
  6. "Limerick Diocesan Heritage Project - Ardagh-Carrickerry Parish".
  7. "The Ardagh Chalice: History and Decoration - Claddagh Design".
  8. Shiels, Damian (13 September 2011). "Hillforts, Ringforts & Hoards: The Archaeology of Ardagh, Co. Limerick".
  9. "Ardagh Ring Fort". 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.