Mapping the Irish Rath (Ringfort): Landscape and Settlement Patterns in the Early Medieval Period

The landscape motif of the Irish rath, or ringfort, is closely associated with early medieval settlement in Ireland (400–1100 AD). Ringforts were circular or near-circular enclosures, typically constructed by digging a surrounding ditch, the material from which would be used to construct an adjacent earthen bank. The majority of ringfort sites feature a single ditch and bank (known as a univallate site), but double or triple banked sites are also known, and are described as bivallate and trivallate, respectively. Variations in ringfort morphology and in the physical geographical characteristics of their site location provides a valuable field record that is indicative of the diversity of socioeconomic roles played by these sites and of status of individuals and clans responsible for their construction and occupation. Ringfort locations generally represented the habitation centre of the farmstead, comprising one or more dwellings. Petal-shaped fields would surround the site. This chapter discusses a geographical information science (GIScience) and geostatistical study of ringfort locations in the Irish Midlands, utilizing data sourced from the Irish Government’s Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government archaeological site spatial database. This study also draws on archaeological and historical database records and fieldwork analysis in order to consider the relations between physical environmental context and ringfort settlement patterns.