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Multivallate Ringforts in Tipperary

 


Bivallate (purple) and Trivallate (Yellow) ring-forts in the North Tipperary area.

I've also included the Barony boundaries and it is interesting how the Trivallate ring-forts seems to concentrate in the barony of Upper Ormond.

Bivallate (purple) and Trivallate (Yellow) and Multivallate (Red) ring-forts in the South Tipperary area.

I've also included the Barony boundaries. I don't think anything jumps out as dramatically in the South except that maybe there are fewer bivallate ringforts. This may be because of agricultural practices or it may just be in how the descriptions of each was recorded (ie North & South Tipperary surveys were carried out at different times when the county was split for administrative purposes). The Southern descriptions may not be as explicit as the North Tipperary ones. Another difference is that the South includes 2 "ringforts" with 4 or more rings (marked red). In theory they should be top of the political / social hierarchy.

The map is based on a search of the descriptions of all ring-forts in the county in the Sites & Monument Record for the words - "vallate", "two" & "three".

I reviewed all of these and removed the ones that weren't applicable (eg univallate in the description). It is far from perfect as I noted that for example Rathurles - Trivallate ringfort just to the northeast of Nenagh isn't included because none of the above search words were in the description of the ringfort in the SMR.

Why is this important?

It is generally accepted that the more banks and ditches the monument has, the higher its status and is thus linked to the social status of its owner. The chief of the tuath is thought to have resided in the multivallate examples while the lower grades lived in the univallate.

 


Comments

  1. Seán30 June 2022 at 11:39

    Viking silver was found many years ago by a deceased friend in the bi-vallate one at Rathmoley, Killenaule. . He handed it up to the local school-master. I was told that it was now in the National Museum.

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