Ringforts were an important part of the rural settlement landscape of early medieval Ireland (AD 400-1100). While most of those circular enclosures were farmsteads, a small number had special significance as centres of political power and elite residence, also associated with specialized crafts. One such 'royal site' was Garranes in the mid-Cork region of south-west Ireland. In 1937, archaeological excavation of a large trivallate ringfort provided evidence of high-status residence during the fifth and sixth centuries AD. The site had workshops for the production of bronze ornaments, with...
Ringforts were an important part of the rural settlement landscape of early medieval Ireland (AD 400-1100). While most of those circular enclosures we...