Castle - ringwork, Annaskinnan, Co. Westmeath
The castle ringwork at Annaskinnan in County Westmeath sits on low, wet pasture about 60 metres southeast of a stream, rising distinctly above the surrounding floodplain.
Castle - ringwork, Annaskinnan, Co. Westmeath
This medieval earthwork takes the form of a raised circular platform, measuring roughly 33.5 metres east to west and 32 metres north to south. The monument consists of three main elements: an inner bank enclosing the raised interior, a deep defensive ditch (or fosse) running around it, and an outer bank forming the perimeter. The inner bank remains particularly well preserved along its northern arc, standing high and steep, though sections from the northeast around to the northwest have been reduced to little more than a scarp. The southwestern and western portions show damage from what appears to be old quarrying activity.
The entrance to the ringwork lies on the north-northeast side, marked by aligned gaps in both the inner and outer banks with a causeway crossing the fosse between them. The outer gap spans about 6.4 metres at its base, whilst the causeway itself measures 2 metres across at the top and stands 1.3 metres high. The interior platform rises significantly above the surrounding landscape, its surface showing slight undulations that may indicate the locations of former structures. The outer bank, though substantial where it survives, has been almost completely worn away along its western side.
Perhaps most intriguingly, aerial photography reveals traces of a raised earthen causeway approaching from higher ground to the northwest. This causeway intersects the outer bank at the north before appearing to follow the exterior of the fortification round to the entrance. The route seems to have continued in a curve towards another nearby ringfort, suggesting these two monuments were once physically linked across the wet floodplain; a practical solution to maintaining access between defensive sites in this marshy landscape.