Ballyfounder Rath

Ballyfounder Rath is the remains of a ringfort situated on the Ards Peninsula, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It consists of a circular mound about 20m in diameter, with traces of an outer bank and ditch.[1] It is a Scheduled Historic Monument and is at grid ref: J6207 4954.[2]

Excavations

Excavations carried out by Waterman found a Paffrath ware ladle in a layer containing decorated glazed jugs, relating to a ringfort heightened by the Anglo-Normans. This suggested that the ladle was not deposited until the middle of the 13th century, which would mean that it had survived for at least a century.[3] This secondary occupation of Ballyfounder consisted of a small rectangular timber-framed building, a few other post-holes and occupation debris dated to the 13th century by the Anglo-Norman pottery.[4]

References

  1. "Ards Peninsula". The Stone Circle. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  2. "Ballyfounder" (PDF). Scheduled Historic Monuments. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  3. Barry, T.B. (1987). The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland. London: Methuen. p. 96.
  4. Edwards, N (1990). The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland. London: BT Batsford. p. 19.
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