Cairn - radial-stone cairn

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in level pasture-land this monument is not indicated on any edition of the OS maps. Three large thorn trees grow on the site. Discovered in 2011 (pers. comm. J. O’Sullivan) the remains consist of a series of radially-set stones indicating a circle (c. 16m internal diameter N-S). Only the E half of the circle survives and comprises 16 stones, a number of which are partly displaced or leaning. The stones (averaging 0.50m – 0.70m high) are set 1m – 1.60m apart with the most common distance between them being c. 1.40m. There is evidence of cairn infill between a number of the stones. A single large stone lies on the ground surface on the W side of the monument and may once have been an upright. The interior is grass-covered and stony under foot which suggests that there may have been internal cairn material. A large, raised grass-covered stony area is present on the W part of the monument though whether this is an original feature, is the result of former land clearance or represents the destroyed remnants of the W component of the monument is unknown. The remains are best interpreted as a radial-stone cairn, a type of monument that is generally found associated with the later Bronze Age stone circle complex in SW Ireland. Only twenty examples are known and there is a second example in the county at Cartron South (GA125-032----) some 23km to the SE.

GA114-181----_01.jpg View of the monument from the east.
GA114-181----_02.jpg View of the stones from the centre of the perimeter at the east, looking southwest.
GA114-181----_02.jpg View of the stones from the centre of the perimeter at the east, looking northwest.

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 23 June 2013