Burial mound

The National Monuments Service's description

On a sandy rise above the beach close to N shore of the island. This Nat. Mon. is a circular mound revetted by a drystone wall (D 21m, H >1.5m) and it is known locally as Cnoc Raithní (Robinson 1980). Traces of slab-lined graves protrude above S half of the flat top of the mound. The N half is occupied by a small rectangular kerbed platform (H 0.9m) surmounted by two small limestone pillars. Discovered in 1885 by shifting of sands, 'excavated' and 'restored' by the Board of Works (Clark 1969, xi). A cordoned urn, a smaller vessel, a bronze artifact and bone were recovered from a circular cist (D c. 1.5m, H c. 1.2m) in the body of the cairn (Murphy 1886). Other graves and pottery were also found but there is confusion as to their location and context. (Westropp 1895, 272; Daly 1975, 76-7; Waddell 1975, 17; Kavanagh 1976, 365, where wrongly provenanced)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Updated by: Olive Alcock

Date of revised upload: 20 January 2016

This monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 41.

References

Daly, L. 1975 (new edition 1996) Oileáin Árainn. Mullingar. Hayden House Publications.

Clark, G. 1969 The Aran Islands and Galway City including Westropp's account of the Aran Islands. Dublin. Mount Salus Press.

Murphy, D. 1886 On two sepulchral urns found in June 1885, in the South Island of Aran. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 16, 476-9.

Robinson, T. 1980 The Aran Islands, Co. Galway: a map and guide. Árainn. Published by the author.

Kavanagh, R.M. 1976 Collared and cordoned cinerary urns in Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 76C, 349-350.

Westropp, T.J. 1895 Proceedings: Aran Islands. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 25, 250-74.

Waddell, J. 1975 The Bronze Age burials of County Galway. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 34, 5-20.