Skaghaphreaghaun - Hachured, Ardroe, Co. Limerick
In a level pasture near Ardroe in County Limerick lies the remains of Skaghaphreaghaun, a rectangular earthwork that offers a glimpse into Ireland's medieval past.
Skaghaphreaghaun - Hachured, Ardroe, Co. Limerick
The site measures roughly 25 metres from north-northwest to south-southeast and 28 metres from east-northeast to west-southwest. An earthen bank defines much of its perimeter, standing along the northern, eastern and southeastern boundaries, whilst the southern edge is marked by a sharp scarp about five metres wide and nearly a metre high. A breach in the northern bank, about a metre wide at its base and expanding to 2.5 metres overall, likely served as the original entrance to the enclosure.
The monument features a complex defensive system typical of medieval ringforts. An external fosse, or defensive ditch, runs around the site, measuring just over eight metres wide but now only about 25 centimetres deep due to centuries of silting on the southern side. The northern and eastern sections are overgrown with vegetation, whilst trees have been planted along the western portion. Between this outer ditch and the main enclosure, an intervening bank survives best at the northern end of the western side, where it reaches 1.8 metres in height on its exterior face. This bank gradually reduces to a simple scarp towards the south. A second, inner fosse along the western side measures nearly six metres wide, though its northern end is now obscured by overgrowth.
Today, the grass-covered interior has an uneven surface that hints at possible internal structures or activities from its occupied period. Traces of an outer bank, extending about 14 metres along the northwestern side, suggest the site may have had even more elaborate defences than what remains visible. A farm track now runs alongside the eastern edge of the monument, connecting this ancient site to the modern agricultural landscape that surrounds it. Compiled by Denis Power and uploaded to archaeological records in November 2013, this site stands as a well-preserved example of the earthwork fortifications that once dotted the Irish countryside.





