Barrow - ditch barrow

The National Monuments Service's description

In reclaimed pasture 30m E of a stream and 155m W of the townland boundary with Lissard. One of 6 barrows (LI049-072010/015-) in a field to E of drainage ditch that makes up a barrow cemetery concentrated in an area measuring 100m N-S x 115m E-W. Barrow cemetery (LI049-072001/009-) lies 70m to W and enclosure (LI049-072016-) lies 110m to SE. Three of the 6 barrows (LI049-072010/015-) in this cemetery were excavated in 1935 by S. P. Ó Ríordáin (1936, 176-177) the results of which were described as follows; ‘In 1935 further excavations were conducted on a total of twenty of these monuments. The results were frankly disappointing as no unmistakable burial was found in any of the barrows excavated. In one some scattered fragments of cremated bone were found, but it was not possible to say if these were human; in another three pockets filled with dark humified soil were revealed which may have marked disintegrated burials. Several solutions may be suggested to account for these negative results. It would appear on the available evidence probable that the majority of the burials were not contained in urns, and that they were burials after cremation. This being the case one may suppose on the evidence of the softness of the bones found in the Lissard barrow that an acid soil acting on the unprotected cremated remains completely dissolved them, leaving no trace. Another factor which we have to consider is the little protection afforded by the slight central mound. This was obviously formed by piling up some of the material from the comparatively shallow ditch, part going to the construction of the surrounding bank’ (Ó Ríordáin 1936, 177). This site which was excavated is located immediately NE of a drainage ditch running NW-SE in W corner of field and is visible as a faint circular-shaped cropmark (diam. c. 6m) on Google Earth orthoimages 28/06/2018

See attached location map taken from Ó Ríordáin and Google Earth orthoimage.

Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick

Date of upload: 24 September 2021

References

Ó Ríordáin, S.P. 1936 Excavations at Lissard, Co. Limerick and other sites in the locality. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 66, 173-85.

Grogan, E. 1989 The Early Prehistory of the Lough Gur Region: Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement patterns in North Munster, south of the River Shannon, 3 Vols. Doctoral PhD Thesis submitted to the Dept. of Archaeology, University College Dublin.