Ringfort facts for kids

A ring fort on Inishman

Staigue fort in County Kerry

A ring fort is a special type of ancient home or village that was built with strong walls to keep people safe. Think of it like a mini-castle for a family or a small community. These forts were mostly used a long time ago, during the Middle Ages. You can find many of them in Ireland. In old Irish stories, they have different names like ráth, caiseal, cathair, and dún.

What is a Ring Fort?

A ring fort is a circular area of land that was made into a protected settlement. People built them to keep their homes, families, and animals safe from dangers. They usually have one or more banks of earth or stone walls, with ditches around them. These forts were common in Ireland, but similar structures can be found in other parts of Europe too.

Different Types of Ring Forts

Ring forts weren't all built the same way. Their names often depended on what they were made of:

• A ráth (pronounced 'rah') was made from earth. People would dig a ditch and pile up the soil to make a protective bank.
• A caiseal (pronounced 'cash-el') and a cathair (pronounced 'cah-her') were built using stone. These were often found in areas where stone was easy to get, like the west of Ireland.
• A dún (pronounced 'doon') was a more important type of fort. It was usually the home of a local leader or ruler. These could be made of earth or stone and were sometimes built on high places or cliffs for extra protection.

Why Were They Built?

Ring forts were built for several important reasons:

• Protection: The main reason was safety. The banks and ditches or stone walls helped protect the people inside from wild animals or other groups of people.
• Homes: They were also places where families lived. Inside the fort, there would have been houses, often round, made of wood and thatch.
• Farming: People would keep their farm animals, like cattle and sheep, inside the fort at night to keep them safe.

Where Can You Find Them?

You can find thousands of ring forts across Ireland. They are one of the most common types of ancient sites there. Many are still visible today as circular mounds or stone walls in fields. They are also found in other places like Wales and Cornwall in the United Kingdom.

Images for kids

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  The ringfort at Rathrar in County Roscommon, Ireland

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  The Grianán Ailigh in Co. Donegal, Ireland is one of the more impressive stone-walled ringforts

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  Remains of a small earthen ringfort in modern use as an enclosure in Clanabogan, County Tyrone

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  Interior of Grianán Ailigh

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  Ringfort on the island of Inishmaan, Aran Islands, Ireland

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  Caher on Black Head, County Clare, with karst terrain in foreground

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  The gate of Chûn Castle in Cornwall

See also

In Spanish: Ringfort para niños