Cairn - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

In forestry, on the summit of Duntryleague Hill, 70m SW of townland boundary with Snugborough. A passage tomb (LI049-077----) and cairn (LI049-076----) lie 150m to the W. Not marked on historic OSi maps, an OSi trig. station marking 922 ft. OD is shown at this location. Recorded by Leask 91932, NMI Field Moument Files) as 'the kerb of a larger denuded cairn'. This monument was planned and described by Ó Nualláin and Cody (1987, 81) as follows: ‘This is a round relatively flat-topped mound, about 19m in diameter, along the perimeter of which stretches of a dry-walled kerb are visible. It is covered by a layer of heather-grown peat, at least 0.2m thick at the south-west, on which there are occasional young furze bushes. At the well-defined perimeter it averages about 0.7m in height and rises gradually to about 1.3m at the centre. Stretches of kerb are visible at the north-east, 6m in length, at the east-south-east 3m, and at the north-west 8m, the last apparently exposed in clearing a channel-like course, now grass-grown, alongside the mound edge. Individual kerbstones are occasionally visible elsewhere along the perimeter. The lowermost visible layer of kerbstones is shown on the plan and these range from 0.35m to 1.5m in length and from 0.2m to 0.7m in height. The individual stones in the upper layers are generally smaller. A small hole, 1.1m in maximum extent and 0.3m in depth, has been dug into the top of the mound recently and the upcast of small stones and earth heaped beside it.’ Monument visible on Digital Globe orthoimage taken between 2011-13 and on Google Earth orthoimages.

See attached location map showing Cairn 3, plan of cairn and Google Earth orthoimage.

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 7 October 2021

References

Ó Nualláin, S. and Cody, E. 1987 Passage tombs in the Suir valley region. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 117, 69-83.

Herity, M. 1974 Irish Passage Graves. Dublin. Irish University Press.

ASIAP - Archaeological Survey of Ireland Aerial Photographs (c. 1996 - c. 2010).