Antiquities
Antiquities
The prehistoric antiquities of the province are numerous and important, including the great cham- bered tumuli of the Boyne Valley, and the Hill of Tara. The remains of cathedrals, churches, castles, and the ruins of early monastic settlements like that at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, would demand a volume to themselves if they were adequately to be described. All that it is possible to do in the space at our disposal, is briefly to call attention to the principal monuments.
Forts of different types are numerous in East Leinster ; it is impossible to do more than mention a few. One of the most interesting is the stone-built cuthair at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow (Accommodation, Wicklow, Ireland). This remarkable fort, situated 3 miles east of Tullow, consists of four roughly circular lines of defence, the outer rampart which covers an extent of about eighteen acres, consists of earth, faced with fairly large stones. The innermost ring or citadel is a dry- built wall of stone with a diameter of about 150 ft. ; the second rampart, also of stone, is from 30 to 50 paces from the first; the third rampart, also of stone, is some 10 ft. from the second, with a shallow ditch between them