Burial mound

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on a rise with a fall of ground to W.
This monument is not shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map; it is depicted on the 1922 edition as a circular hachured enclosure (diam. c. 15m) beside which is written ‘David’s Fort’ and ‘Graves’. Aldridge (1969, 85) considered it 'an obvious cist burial mound', though he gives no corroborating details, and he recorded that it was ‘reputed to have been used for the burial of children’ (MA040-047001-).
Raised flat-topped oval area (c. 16m NE−SW; c. 12.5m NW−SE) defined by a stony scarp. The scarp is most pronounced (H 0.9-1m) at NW where there is a natural drop in exterior ground level; field clearance stones are heaped against it at NE−E, it is evident as broadly slumped slope at SE−S, and a low rise (H 0.35m) at SW−W. Set c. 2-2.5m in from the top edge of the scarp, an arc of low stones protrudes from the level interior. This appears to be the footings of a stone wall, which can be traced in a curve E−NW, but peters out at N−NE; it may be related to the tradition of use as a children’s burial ground.
It is enveloped in dense overgrowth, with piles of field clearance stones in interior and around perimeter.

Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 25 May 2020

References

Aldridge, R.B. 1969 Notes on children's burial grounds in Mayo. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 99, 83-87.