Lisnagade

According to the description of Scarva from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837, " Lisnagade, or "the fort of a hundred," is one of the most extensive and best-preserved of its kind: it consists of treble ramparts and intrenchments; the entrance is from the east, leading into an extensive circular enclosure, whence are obtained prospects of the entire country for many miles around, and a great number of forts or raths are seen, from which circumstance it is supposed this fort took its name, being the chief or centre of a hundred others: the fosses on every side are very deep, and it is remarkable that they are all paved at the bottom with rounded pebbles set in clay. In…

Lisnagade is an impressive circular earthwork, consisting of three massive ditch-separated banks, approximately 6m high, which completely surround the fort. The diameter of the inner circle is a good 60m and the total diameter of the rath is about 110m. There is a smaller rath annexed to the north by two straight ditches. This rath is very low and is about 30m diameter. It is surrounded by a single ditch. Though bronze artefacts have been recovered from the site, little is known about its occupants. This ancient site dates back more than 1000 years, and is thought to have been constructed around 350 AD. The interior has now only low undergrowth and a beech tree just off centre. The banks…