Caherconnell Stone Fort
| Cathair Chonaill | |
Part of the wall of Caherconnell Stone Fort
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 Shown within Ireland
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| Location | Parish of Kilcorney, the Burren |
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| Region | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°02′27″N 9°08′21″W / 53.04075°N 9.139172°W |
| Type | Ringfort |
| History | |
| Periods | Medieval |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Graham Hull |
| Ownership | private |
| Public access | yes |
Caherconnell (Irish: Cathair Chonaill, meaning "Conall's stone ringfort") is a medieval, exceptionally well-preserved stone ringfort in region known as the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. It lies about 1 km south of the Poulnabrone dolmen.
Caherconnell lies west of the R480 road connecting Ballyvaughan and Leamaneh Castle in the townland of Caherconnell, parish of Kilcorney, Barony of Burren, County Clare. The local geology is karst limestone and the land is used for pasture.
Caherconnell features a circular drystone enclosure wall with a diameter of 42 metres. Walls are up to 3 metres thick and up to 3 metres high. The amount of loose stones suggests an original height of around one extra metre. The wall is made of local limestone. The entrance gap is located to the east.
Inside the enclosure are the remains of a dividing drystone wall, around a metre wide. There are also two visible structures. Structure A is located next to the north wall of the fort. It is rectangular with the long axis running east to west, measuring roughly 10m by 5m. Structure B is next to the west wall of the fort, measuring around 7.5m by 5m internally. Its north wall is part of the dividing wall.
Some additional structures surround the ringfort. The existence of a souterrain has been surmised but nothing definite has been found.
The fort shows numerous similarities with Cahermore ringfort and Cahermacnaghten, two other cashels that remained in use until a relatively late date.
According to Radiocarbon dating conducted in connection with an archaeological excavation in the summer of 2007, the ringfort mostly dates from the early 10th to mid-12th century. Occupation deposits indicate the fort was used from around the early 10th century to the early 13th century. The later structure A with a rectangular outline was likely built between the early 15th and mid-17th century. It is not certain whether the cashel was continuously inhabited or temporarily abandoned in the 14th century.
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Wikipedia