Cairn - burial cairn

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a rise, in the lowlying floodplain of the river Shannon. A flat-topped circular mound (diam. 23m; H 1.5m) with a near vertical gradient on the N side and more gentle gradients at S and W. The site was partially archaeologically excavated in advance of road construction works. Prior to archaeological investigation, the site consisted of a circular mound (diam. c. 23m; H 1.5m). In 2003 archaeological test excavation was carried out by Florence Hurley under licence No. 03E1144. Two hand-dug trenches, one on the W edge of the mound (7m by 1m) and one on top of the mound (2m by 2m), were excavated. These confirmed that the mound, or cairn, was made up of small and medium-sized stones (D 1m). A combination of larger stones and natural bedrock acted as revetting on the western side of the cairn. Fragments of cremated human bone were found in a discrete deposit on the old ground surface beneath the cairn. No evidence for any cists or deposits of bone within the cairn was found in the limited area examined. No external ditch was present.

See attached Google Earth orthoimages taken 19/11/2019 and 02/07/2018

Compiled by Edmond O'Donovan and Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 26 June 2020

References

Hurley, F. 2003 Archaeological Testing at Clondrinagh, Co. Limerick, Planning Ref: 00/680, Archaeological Licence Ref: 03E1144, unpublished archaeological report submitted to the National Monuments Service.