Ringfort
A ringfort, ring fort or ring fortress is a fortified settlement. Ring forts were made to protect villages, mostly in the Middle Ages. In Ireland where many such forts can be found, they are also known as ráth, caiseal, cathair and dún in the early Irish sources.
A ráth (anglicised rath), was made of earth, caiseal (northwestern Ireland, anglicised cashel) and cathair (southwestern Ireland) were built of stone. A dun is a more prestigious site, the seat of some kind of ruler, the term is applied to promontory forts as well.
Ringfort Media
The ringfort at Rathrar in County Roscommon, Ireland
The Grianán Ailigh in County Donegal, Ireland, is one of the more impressive stone-walled ringforts.
The distribution of known, surviving ringforts in Ireland
Ringfort on the island of Inishmaan, Aran Islands, Ireland
Caher on Black Head, County Clare, with karst terrain in foreground
A typical ringfort incorporated into field boundaries in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
The gate of Chûn Castle in Cornwall
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