Satellite Imagery
Satellite Imagery
HER: Archaeological Survey of Ireland SMR Database WI037-016 (None)
NMR: WI 037 (None)
SM: None
NGR: None
X: 690144 Y: 673198 (IRENET95)
Circular multiple enclosure positioned surrounding the flat summit of hilltop at the end of a prominent east-west shoulder of upland and overlooking tributary of Derreen River to immediate W (Raftery 1976, 339). The large multiple enclosure of Knockeen situated 300m to N (Atlas No.0722). The site has a total footprint of approximately 6.1ha and consists of four concentric enclosing elements. The inner enclosing element is likely to be an Early Medieval ringfort and the remaining three ramparts are possibly Late Bronze Age. These consist of two closely spaced banks with an intervening ditch and an outer enclosing element positioned approximately 50m away. Two gaps through inner enclosing elements of hillfort (not the Early Medieval ringfort). One possible original entrance at W consisting of a simple gap through the banks and causeway over the ditch. Excavation has revealed a large number of artifacts, pits, structures and four burials within the interior. A metalworking area was identified. This produced a large number of artifacts associated with the manufacturing of bronze objects. Occupation structures dated to the Late Bronze Age were excavated immediately outside the hillfort to the S. The ramparts survive well throughout their circuits and have recently been stripped of scrub and overgrowth. The outer enclosing element has been levelled at the NE. Interior is under pasture. First map depiction in 1842 in first edition Ordnance Survey six inch mapping. Survey by Orpen in 1911. Excavation by Raftery in the late 1960's and early 70's. Late Bronze Age dates, possible Iron Age re-use.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -741738 Y: 6946500 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -6.663143305941352 Latitude: 52.80223419312356 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Republic of Ireland; None
Current County or Unitary Authority: Wicklow
Historic County: Wicklow
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Rath East
None
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
None
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Circular multiple enclosure positioned surrounding the flat summit of hilltop at the end of a prominent east-west shoulder of upland and overlooking tributary of Derreen River to immediate W (Raftery 1976, 339). The large multiple enclosure of Knockeen situated 300m to N. Rathgall is positioned on higher ground and overlooks Knockeen.
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✓ |
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Hilltop.
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 139.0m
ENE section of outer enclosing elements forms the townland boundary between Rath East and Knockeen.
Boundary Type: None
A recent listing of 55 radiocarbon dates from Rathgall includes 47 of Late Bronze Age date (Chapple 2013, https://sites.google.com/site/chapplearchaeology/irish-radiocarbon-dendrochronological-dates).
Reliability: A - High
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✓ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | Extensive assemblage |
| C14: | 55 radiocarbon dates from Rathgall includes 47 of Late Bronze Age date |
First map depiction in 1842 in first edition Ordnance Survey six inch mapping. More detailed survey in second edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch mapping. Survey by Orpen in 1911. Excavation by Raftery in the late 1960's and early 70's.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1842): | First edition Ordnance Survey six inch mapping |
| Earthwork Survey (1906): | Second edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch mapping |
| Other (1911): | Survey by Orpen |
| Other (1990): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Excavation (None): | Raftery |
Evidence for metalworking and a cemetery within the interior are Late Bronze Age in date. An Iron Age enclosure is concentric with and lies immediately within the central Early Medieval ringfort (Grogan and Kilfeather 1997, 43). Large number of pits and post-holes outside inner enclosure are Late Bronze Age (Raftery 1976, 342). Six hearths within inner enclosure (Raftery 1976, 343). Over 5000 sherds of coarse ware pottery (Raftery 1976, 344). Metal working area and four human burials identified immediately outside the inner Early Medieval enclosure (Raftery 1976, 345).
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Round house found immediately outside the hillfort to the S date to the Late Bronze Age.
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Pits | ✓ |
| Postholes | ✓ |
| Roundhouses | ✓ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
Saddle querns, stone rubbers, bronze bar toggle, pennannular gold ring, clay mould fragments, bracelet fragments, glass beads, amber beads, bronze conical rivits and other bronze artefacts, 4 human burials (Raftery 1976).
| No Known Finds | ✗ |
| Pottery | ✓ |
| Metal | ✓ |
| Metalworking | ✓ |
| Human Bones | ✓ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✓ |
| Environmental | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✗ |
| None | ✓ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Two gaps through inner enclosing elements of hillfort (not the Early Medieval ringfort). One possible original entrance at W consisting of a simple gap through the banks and causeway over the ditch.
| 2: | Simple gaps at S and W. |
| 2: | Simple gap at W, now used as modern entrance. |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (West): | None |
The hillfort comprises four concentric ramparts with a total site footprint of approximately 6.08ha. The inner enclosure is likely to be an Early Medieval ringfort (Waddell 1998, 270). The middle enclosing elements are likely to represent the original inner enclosing feature of the hillfort. This comprises a closely set pair of banks with an intervening ditch. The outer enclosing element is approximately 50m from this and consists of a mixture of earth and stone (Grogan and Kilfeather 1997, 43).
| Area 1: | 1.34ha. |
| Area 2: | 2.14ha. |
| Area 3: | 5.77ha. |
| Total: | 5.77ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 6.08ha.
None
| ✓ | None |
| ✓ | Although these enclosing elements are concentric, it is likely that the inner enclosing element is Early Medieval and the remaining enclosing elements are Late Bronze Age. Rampart destroyed at the NE. |
| NE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SE Quadrant: | 4 |
| SW Quadrant: | 4 |
| NW Quadrant: | 4 |
| Total: | 4 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✓ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✓ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✓ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Earth and stone banks
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
and ditch
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | External ditch. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None. |
Chapple, R. 2013, https://sites.google.com/site/chapplearchaeology/irish-radiocarbon-dendrochronological-dates.
Grogan, E. and Kilfeather, A. 1997. Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow. The Stationery Office, Dublin.
Orpen, G. 1911. Rathgal, Co. Wicklow. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 41, 138 - 150.
Raftery, B 1972. «Irish hillforts». In The Iron Age in the Irish Sea Province (ed C Thomas), C.B.A Research Report 9, London. 37-58.
Raftery, B 1976. Rathgall and Irish Hillfort Problems. In Hillforts: Later Prehistoric Earthworks of Britain and Ireland (ed D Harding), Academic Press, London. 339-357.
Raftery, B 1994. Pagan Celtic Ireland, Thames and Hudson, London
Waddell, J 1998. The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland 1st edn, Wordwell, Dublin.
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
Document Version 1.1