Rath Turtle Moat

Last updated

Rath Turtle Moat
Ráth Torcaill
Summit of Rath Turtle Moat, County Wicklow, Ireland 5.jpg
A view from the summit of the moat looking south-east towards Blessington Lake
Ireland adm location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Ireland
Alternative nameRathturtle Moat
LocationGlen Ding, Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland
Region Wicklow Mountains
Coordinates 53°10′46″N6°33′28″W / 53.179395°N 6.557808°W / 53.179395; -6.557808
Altitude286 m (938 ft)
Type ringwork
Length49 m (161 ft)
Width36 m (118 ft)
Area0.55 ha (1.4 acres)
History
Builder Anglo-Normans
Materialearth
Founded12th century AD
CulturesAnglo-Norman
Site notes
Ownershipprivate
Official nameRathturtle
Reference no.662

Rath Turtle Moat is a ringwork and National Monument located in County Wicklow, Ireland. [1] [2]

Contents

Location

Rath Turtle Moat is located in Glen Ding Wood, 1.6 km (0.99 mi) northwest of Blessington, overlooking the River Liffey reservoir and near the source of the Morell River. [3]

History

The site is believed to derive its name from the Meic Torcaill, a leading Norse-Gaelic family in 12th-century Dublin. [4] The same name is found in that of the townland of Curtlestown (Irish : Baile mhic Torcaill), located west of Powerscourt. [5] The site later came under Norman control. Ringworks like that at Rath Turtle were built during the earliest phase of the Norman conquest of Ireland. They usually had a wooden gate tower, with a stone-lined causewayed entrance and stone-lined banks topped by a wooden palisade. [6] The site has been recognised by the OPW as one of "great historical importance" following an archaeological study of the area. [7]

Description

The ringwork is ovoid and consists of a raised central area enclosed by a high earthen bank, an external fosse and an external bank. The entrance is to the south has a causeway across the ditch.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Liffey</span> River in Dublin in Ireland

The River Liffey is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water and supports a range of recreational activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rathcroghan</span> Complex of archaeological sites in Roscommon, Ireland

Rathcroghan is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The Rathcroghan Complex is a unique archaeological landscape with many references found in early Irish medieval manuscripts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trim Castle</span> Largest Norman castle in Ireland (ruin), Trim, County Meath

Trim Castle is a castle on the south bank of the River Boyne in Trim, County Meath, Ireland, with an area of 30,000 m2. Over a period of 30 years, it was built by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter as the caput of the Lordship of Meath. The Irish Government currently own and are in charge of the care of the castle, through the state agency The Office of Public Works (OPW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blessington</span> Town in western County Wicklow, Ireland

Blessington, historically known as Ballycomeen, is a town on the River Liffey in County Wicklow, Ireland, near the border with County Kildare. It is around 25 km south-west of Dublin, and is situated on the N81 road, which connects Dublin to Tullow. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymore Eustace</span> Town in County Kildare, Leinster, Ireland

Ballymore Eustace is a small town situated in County Kildare in Ireland, although until 1836 it lay within an exclave of County Dublin. It lies close to the border with County Wicklow. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltinglass</span> Town in County Wicklow, Ireland

Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas, is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penhallam</span> Former fortified manor house in Cornwall

Penhallam is the site of a fortified manor house near Jacobstow in Cornwall, England. There was probably an earlier, 11th-century ringwork castle on the site, constructed by Tryold or his son, Richard fitz Turold in the years after the Norman invasion of 1066. Their descendants, in particular Andrew de Cardinham, created a substantial, sophisticated manor house at Penhallam between the 1180s and 1234, building a quadrangle of ranges facing onto an internal courtyard, surrounded by a moat and external buildings. The Cardinhams may have used the manor house for hunting expeditions in their nearby deer park. By the 14th century, the Cardinham male line had died out and the house was occupied by tenants. The surrounding manor was broken up and the house itself fell into decay and robbed for its stone. Archaeological investigations between 1968 and 1973 uncovered its foundations, unaltered since the medieval period, and the site is now managed by English Heritage and open to visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunlavin</span> Village in County Wicklow, Ireland

Dunlavin is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about 50 kilometres (30 mi) south-west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 and R756 regional roads. It was founded around the end of the 17th century and became a prominent town in the area for a time. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donard</span> Village in County Wicklow, Ireland

Donard is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland, located at the northern end of the Glen of Imaal, in the western part of the Wicklow Mountains. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.

Eaton Socon Castle was a Norman fortification. It was constructed next to the River Great Ouse in what is now Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilbride, County Wicklow</span> Village in County Wicklow, Ireland

Kilbride, or Manor Kilbride, is a village, civil parish and electoral division in County Wicklow, Ireland, located at the western edge of the Wicklow Mountains in the barony of Talbotstown Lower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rathmore, County Kildare</span> Village in County Kildare, Ireland

Rathmore, a village, civil parish and District electoral division in County Kildare, Ireland, is located at the western edge of the Wicklow Mountains in the barony of Naas North. The original settlement was at the southwest corner of the English Pale, serving an important function as a border fortress during the medieval period.

The Meic Torcaill, also known as the Meic Turcaill, the Mac Torcaill dynasty, the Mac Turcaill dynasty, and the Mac Turcaill family, were a leading Norse-Gaelic family in mediaeval Dublin. The kindred produced several eminent men and kings of Dublin before the Norman conquest of the kingdom in 1170. Afterwards the family fell from prominence, losing possession of their extensive lands in the region. In time the Meic Torcaill lost precedence to other Dublin families, such as the Harolds and Archbolds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threecastles Castle</span> Irish National Monument - castle in County Wicklow

Threecastles Castle is a three-storey tower house situated near Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland. It is protected as a national monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piper's Stones</span> Bronze Age stone circle in Ireland

The Piper's Stones or the Athgreany stone circle is a Bronze Age stone circle at Athgreany, County Wicklow. It sits on a low hillock overlooking the N81, 2 km south of Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mark's Cross</span> High cross in County Wicklow, Ireland

St. Mark's Cross is a high cross and National Monument located in Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland.

Crossoona Rath is a ringfort located in County Wicklow, Ireland. Together with a nearby ogham stone, it forms a National Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawridge Court ringwork</span> A medieval fortification in Buckinghamshire, England

Hawridge Court ringwork is a small, well-preserved medieval fortification located in Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards, in Buckinghamshire, England. Ringworks are relatively rare in the UK, and date from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. The site was designated a scheduled monument in 1996. It is under the care of English Heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blessington House</span> Former country house in County Wicklow, Ireland

Blessington House, Blessington Manor, the Manor House of Blessington, or Downshire House (post-1789) was a large estate house in Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland built in 1673, and destroyed during the 1798 Rebellion. It was never rebuilt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Blessington</span> 17th century church in Ireland

St. Mary's Church is a Church of Ireland church located in Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland. The church was built by Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh in the 1670s and 1680s, and dedicated on 17 September 1683. The clock tower houses the oldest surviving set of bells in Ireland, the original bells used since its foundation, cast in 1682 by Bartlett bellfounders of London. The tower is also notable for possessing what has been described as the oldest public clock in Ireland, and/or the oldest working turret clock in Ireland.

References

  1. "Dáil Éireann - 14/May/2003 Written Answers. - Archaeological Sites". Houses of the Oireachtas. 14 May 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. CHI. "The Rath Turtle Ringwork near Blessington, Co. Wicklow".
  3. "Rath Turtle Moat". Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  4. Byrne, F. J. (1999:293). Seanchas: Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis J. Byrne. Ireland: Four Courts Press.
  5. Smyth, A. P. (1982:44). Celtic Leinster: towards an historical geography of early Irish civilization, A.D. 500-1600. Ireland: Irish Academic Press.
  6. "Co. Kildare Online Electronic History Journal: PLAYING CUPID AMONG THE KILDARE HILLS".
  7. "Glen Ding identified as being of historical relevance". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 April 2024.