MAREE, IRELAND—The Irish Times reports that archaeologists from the University of Galway have uncovered a fortress belonging to a noble Medieval family near the shores of Galway Bay. Since preliminary investigation the 1940s, Rathgurreen Ringfort in Maree was suspected of being a high-status settlement during the Middle Ages, which recent archaeological work confirmed, but the team also found evidence that the site may be 1,000 older than previously expected. The 330-foot diameter fort may have been founded as early as the Iron Age in fifth century a.d., before it grew into a major medieval site centuries later and was the seat of powerful and wealthy rulers. Although there are as many as 40 ringforts in the region of County Galway, Rathgurreen is three times larger than most of them. Western Ireland has a reputation for being wild and isolated, but excavations revealed that the inhabitants were well-connected to the rest of Europe. Pottery from northern France was found at the site as well as amber beads from Scandinavia. “People come to the west of Ireland and they think it’s isolated and remote, but Maree’s ancient remains tell us that western Ireland was not cut off from the wider world, geographically or culturally,” said University of Galway archaeologist Michelle Comber. To read more in-depth about medieval Ireland, go to "Inside a Medieval Gaelic Castle."
