Ringfort Theory

there are two more in the same direction just south of summerhill

53.475506,-6.729988

and this one

53.485141,-6.770723

and i wander if this is another one:

53.489986,-6.78857

one more here barely visible because of the clouds:

53.509438,-6.858433

and this forest is strangely circular

53.521992,-6.894486

and this is on the same diagonal line

53.521992,-6.894486

and what the hell is this on the same line:

53.533255,-6.929179

it looks too new and too perfect, but there are 3 circular structures one next to the other one only partially visible above the big circle

another possibly here:

53.536852,-6.982652

circular forest

53.56022,-6.99396

all these circular structures are together in a very small space. what is this?

53.567128,-6.985595
53.566691,-6.97787
53.567153,-6.970477
53.557448,-6.984988 is this a stone circle?
53.557212,-6.972591 if this is a structure it is huge.


they all seem to lead to here

53.562961,-7.010783

this is the beginning of a path through the bogs which is aligned exactly in the same direction as all these circular structures. i don't think this is coincidence. there is a road that goes through this gap in the bogs today. i wander if there was an old road there as well.

and here we have another circular structure at the other end of the gap in the bogs

53.577729,-7.07744

possibly here directly opposite on the other side of the road

53.583137,-7.067955

and here is something strange as well

53.588047,-7.06214

and a circular structure just above it

53.596711,-7.043734

then here we have two circular structures (intersected circles) and mounds

53.587206,-7.095111

then maybe this. the arc is too perfect to be natural

53.605901,-7.172767

then this:

53.597573,-7.151264

partially hidden by the clouds, but big perfect arc right next to this strange circular structure (well?)

53.598582,-7.156574

then there is something here

53.622245,-7.205606

and here

53.622544,-7.216549

and barely visible in the clouds we have this:

53.623883,-7.224702

still all on the same straight line

then we hit bad google map and we can see only big structures. here is one:

53.648606,-7.249273

one more

53.585525,-7.212966

and another two here

53.583818,-7.236976
53.585576,-7.24285

double circle here with a big arc to its right. is this the third outer circle partially preserved???

53.586175,-7.253289

another small one here and what looks like much bigger one next to it to the right

53.591843,-7.264164

one more here

53.586582,-7.293411

and here we have a line of circular structures very close together cutting across the main road line at 90 degrees angle:

53.578289,-7.293512
53.588563,-7.329277
53.593091,-7.33769
53.588315,-7.346166
53.585181,-7.351209
53.58406,-7.351295
53.578672,-7.355053
53.571524,-7.35462


when the line of forts reaches the lake it bends back to the right and then back up forming and arc:

53.568676,-7.349877
53.566121,-7.336744
53.566083,-7.347173
53.573034,-7.325548


here is one on the edge of the lake

53.579614,-7.379383

one here

53.584149,-7.376188

lots and lots of circular things here. lots of arcs which are too perfect

53.582105,-7.375379
53.584379,-7.383567
53.583793,-7.369534
53.586863,-7.384444
53.589837,-7.387374

so the road continues i the same direction just above lake Owel...the map gets really bad for a while so you can not see any smaller structures, but look at this:

53.620234,-7.448136

what is this?

once we get out of the google haze the line of ringforts continues following the same diagonal direction:

53.631356,-7.549799

and possibly here

53.637641,-7.554508
53.63572,-7.561427

we are now entering another gap between the bogs and half way through there is another circular structure:

53.647468,-7.592026

at the other end of the gap we have a cluster of circular structures:

53.656243,-7.628354
53.659511,-7.633251
53.65349,-7.63872
53.645961,-7.643744
53.645554,-7.651426
53.652663,-7.650522
53.644282,-7.662366
53.652841,-7.659448
53.658971,-7.654747

I think we might have found something here.

According to an entry in the Annals of the Four Masters for AD 123, there were five principal highways (Irish: slighe) leading to Tara (Irish: Teamhair) in Early Medieval Ireland. The entry in the Annals claims that these routes were 'discovered' at the birth of Conn of the Hundred Battles:
The night of Conn's birth were discovered five principal roads leading to Teamhair, which were never observed till then. These are their names: Slighe Asail, Slighe Midhluachra, Slighe Cualann, Slighe Mhór, Slighe Dala. Slighe Mhór is that called Eiscir Riada, i.e. the division line of Ireland into two parts, between Conn and Eoghan Mór.[9]
In reality, "the ancient road system (such as it was - there cannot have been a developed national system) fanned out not from Tara but from Dublin.".[7]

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84448704&postcount=17

this could be one of the road going west from dublin.

by the way, did you notice how bad the google map becomes when you hit midlands?

Small point on the personnel requirements for these structures. I built a circular stone wall in my garden as a decorative thing/homage to the legacy of circular structures throughout our prehistory and I can assure you it only requires one person, a rope and a stick;)

Fascinating thread everybody well done on the legwork.

could they have been used one after another?

Just a note on Placemark 25, Having worked this field a number of occasions, What does seem like a noticeable circular mound is not really anything perceptible on the ground.
It had an RC church ruin marked in there on the historic OS, but I think that may have been over at the location of the house to the West on the ortho.

Lots of other earthworks in the area though. Including Turgeisus fort a few miles to the North-West, past which the original road may well have passed...

I don't believe that the path indicated is necessarily correct either, considering the ground that is covered, I'd be pretty sure that the path would cross the now N52 at Caddagh Cross, and proceed directly to the river deel crossing point at drumcree. There are substantial old earthworks pretty regularly along that path, and there is documented battle (at least one, but much later). The land to the South West of Drumcree includes a large expanse of Bog (Mullacrooy) which would have been quite difficult to cross, as well as numerous hills further South West. Whereas the road from Delvin to Collinstown represents the high ground and clear access. a relatively straight travel path all the way to Castlepollard. The forts etc. to the South of this road seem to be on hilltops generally, and Turgeisius Fort located on top of Randoon, would overlook any existing roadway in the valley below. Ideal place to start robbing people and cutting off noses.....

who knows. there is definitely a cluster of circular things in the center of ireland to which this road leads. what is it?

just before the three lakes Owel, Derravaragh and Lene

there are. if you look at the map that bawn79 kindly made, you can see clusters both before the lakes and after with the "road" going through the bogs before and after through the only available route. i followed the same direction for a while after the second cluster and found few more circular structures continuing in the same direction. i hope others will find time to see where does this "road" lead to.

here is what i found

53.651671,-7.672344
53.656733,-7.674318
53.649802,-7.683527
53.655544,-7.696729
53.658933,-7.699019
53.661399,-7.713779
53.674621,-7.711054
53.678955,-7.705346
53.682539,-7.694573
53.66646,-7.736074
53.668214,-7.736374
53.679057,-7.726289
53.682818,-7.726825
53.680442,-7.754398
53.684712,-7.758776
53.683123,-7.799116 - isolated site below the bog but lots of sites above the bog:

53.695716,-7.706143
53.704887,-7.723843
53.710298,-7.711719
53.715073,-7.717773
53.711047,-7.752574
53.709091,-7.746953
53.710628,-7.782919

finishing with this:

53.748939,-7.755064 - what is this? its big.

53.711771,-7.833645
53.730055,-7.835229
53.738952,-7.868231

and that is it.