Stone circle - embanked

The National Monuments Service's description

On a ridge in pastureland, immediately to the S of the Loughrea-Portumna road. Named the ‘Seven Monuments’ and shown within a large mixed forest on the OS 6-inch maps, this National Monument was known locally as 'Feara Breige'. It was described in Dutton’s Statistical Survey of 1824 as a mound where there were ‘formerly eight flat rude stones’, but one was missing, five were still standing and two were lying flat on the bank. In the centre was a ‘tumulus’ and the entire site was planted with trees (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 2, 239). The trees have since been removed from the monument but traces of the plantation survive immediately to its S and around its W limits and a house has been built to its SE. Traces of lazy beds, running roughly NE-SW are visible immediately to its S. This embanked stone circle (30.15m N-S) is defined by a raised roughly circular area that is enclosed by a well-preserved mainly earthen flat-topped bank (Wth at N 0.8m; int. H 0.5m; ext. H 0.8m) that is clearly visible all round. An outhouse built in the early 1980s clips it a SE (SMR file). There is small gap (base Wth 0.7m) in the bank at SE. The seven boulders are still extant: two at NW and N are lying flat and the other five at NE, E, SE, SSE and SSW are upright. Within the interior, roughly centrally located, is a small cairn (1.8m N-S; H 0.35-0.7m). A low berm (Wth 11.7m) visible around it slopes gently towards the bank. There is no visible surface trace of a fosse. Knox (1915, 310-11) recorded traces of an outer bank to the N, E and S. It is now only clearly visible from N to NE (L c. 16.4m; Wth 0.5m; int. H 1.7m; ext. H 1m). Here a field wall is built outside it and there is a sharp drop (H 1.8m) to the road below. Otherwise only slight intermittent traces are evident from SW to N and this area is densely overgrown with scrub and trees. Knox (1915-16, 72) suggested that the central cairn was possibly an Ordnance Survey station and an excavation by Macalister (1916-17, 506-7), which proved that it was of recent origin, may back this up. The upstanding stones range in height from 1.08m to 1.56m and packing stones are visible at the base of some. Most are partially covered with moss and lichen. The top of the stone (L c. 0.2m; Wth 0.2m) at WSW is fairly flat and bears a roughly square tenon-like feature (H 0.02m; L 0.05m; Wth 0.05m), again suggesting a possible link with an OS trigonometrical station.

The following images are attached:
GA105-162----_01 View from N
GA105-162----_03 View from W
GA105-162----_04 View from W
GA105-162----_14 Upright stone 6
GA105-162----_17 View from road

Compiled by: Olive Alcock

Date of upload: 8 October 2018

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 173/1943).
The monument was taken into Guardianship under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 398.

References

Knox, H.T. 1915-16 Carnfree and Carnabreckna. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 9, 1-33.

Knox, H.T. 1915 Miscellanea: The Masonbrook Ring. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 45, 310-11.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1927 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Galway collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Typescript in 3 vols. Bray.

SMR file - Sites and monuments record files in the National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.