Burial mound

The National Monuments Service's description

National monument No. 247. Small burial mound depicted as a small setting of stones depicted on current ed. OS 25 inch map and shown standing 20m SSE of a large embanked stone circle (LI032-060----) on the Hill of Knockroe. Described in 1833 as one of three stone circles (LI032-058----/60----) standing on the hill of Knockroe (Croker 1833, 109). Croker listed this site as 'N3' and recorded the following about the monument; 'No. 3, which lies forty-three yards south of No. 2 [LI032-058----], is thirty-seven yards [33m] distant from No. 1 [LI032-060----], and measures twenty-eight yards [25.6m] in diameter, and one hundred and thirteen [103m] in circumference' (ibid.). In 1912 this monument was listed as 'Stone Circle P' and described as following; 'The smaller or southern circle is situated a few yards from the greater.
It is a flat-topped mound surrounded externally with slabs of limestone, some of which project above the level of the bank, others being practically coterminous with it and covered with grass above. No stone projects more than 18 inches [0.45m] above the height of the bank. The extreme width of this circle is 33 feet [10m], and the surface of the mound is 3 feet [0.9m] above the level of the field around. To the west of this circle are two recumbent stones. The, bearing taking from the centre of the circle through the middle of the interval, between the two is 233°. The distance of the northern stone from the centre of the circle is 43 feet [13m], of the southern 40 feet [12m], and the distance of the northern from the southern is 25 feet 6 inches [8m]. It will be noticed that the smaller circle is not unlike the central part of the greater one, that is to say, it has a raised bank surrounded by stones, but there are no indications whatsoever of any portion having been double-ranked' (Windle 1912, 302-4).
This monument was described by O'Kelly (1944, 27) as following; 'a flat-topped mound surrounded by a kerb of stones some of which are slightly higher than the level of the interior. There is no entrance. The overall diameter is 33' [10m] and the surface of the interior is 3' [0.9m] higher than the surrounding field. It might be looked upon as a truncated tumulus with a stone kerb. On excavation it produced two burials in urns dating to the bronze age'. In 1978 the monument was described as 'Circle P has an overall diam. of only 10m and consists of a kerb-like setting of contiguous stones around the edge of a flat circular platform. Whether it should be considered a stone circle at all is debatable. Perhaps, it was originally a kerbed tumulus, the upper part of which is now gone, built into an adjacent fence, perhaps. Or it may have been a 'cairn circle' or kerb-cairn' of kinds known in Wales and Scotland. In the NE quadrant two pottery vessels described as 'urns' were found' (O'Kelly and O'Kelly 1978, 26).
Today the circular shaped burial mound is clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 25 May 2018

References

Croker, T.C. 1833 Druidical remains near Lough Gur,
Co. Limerick. Gentleman's Magazine (February
1833), 105–12.

O'Kelly, M.J. 1944 A survey of the antiquities in the barony of Small County, Co. Limerick. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 4, 16-53.

Windle, B. 1912 Megalithic remains surrounding
Lough Gur, Co. Limerick. Proceedings of the Royal
Irish Academy 30C, 283–306.

O'Kelly, M.J., and O'Kelly, C. 1978 Illustrated guide to Lough Gur, Co. Limerick. Cork. Author.

Harbison, P. 1970 (Reprint 1992) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin. Gill and Macmillan.