The Irish Ringfort

This book examines all aspects of Irish ringforts - their shape and size, their date and function - with special attention to national distribution patterns. Reference to contemporary written sources brings to the fore the people who dwelt within ringforts and their relationships with neighbouring farmsteads and religious communities. This study focuses on the lives and material remains of people who are often neglected in historical studies - men and women who were not the saints of official history. The Irish Ringfort is the first book to avail itself of the new all-Ireland database of ringforts compiled by the archaeological surveys of the Office of Public Works and the Heritage Service (DOE NI). Nationwide patterns are illustrated through a re-examination of earlier studies. What emerges is a consistent pattern of settlement that illuminates aspects of early Christian society, especially the relationship between individuals of varying status and the settlement determinants of both secular and ecclesiastical establishments.

Author: Matthew Stout
Publisher: Four Courts Press
Published: 05/19/2023
Pages: 144
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
ISBN13: 9781851825820
ISBN10: 1851825827
BISAC Categories:
- History | Europe | Ireland
- History | Europe | Medieval

About the Author
Matthew Stout is a cartographer and a historical geographer. He was a co-editor of Atlas of the Irish rural landscape (Cork, 1998) and has published numerous articles on ringforts.