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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Megalithic structure

Tooreen (costello By.), County Mayo, Ireland

The record

Townland
Tooreen (costello By.)
County
Mayo
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
53.82591, -8.76819
SMR number
MA082-051----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

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The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on a slight rise, overlooked to NW by higher ground.
Not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps. A sod-covered subrectangular mound or cairn (14.8m NW-SE; 12.4m NE-SW), with a ramp-like profile on its long axis. It is highest at the SE end (H 1.1m) sloping down from there to a poorly defined NW edge that is more or less flush with surrounding ground level. In parts where the sod has been eroded by farm stock, it can be seen that the mound is composed predominately of stones. There is a low raised stony rim (Wth c. 2m) along the top edge of the mound at E−SE.
A hawthorn tree grows from the low NW end of the mound and is encircled at its roots by a jumble of loose stone. Two stone slabs barely protrude above this loose rubble. The slabs appear to be set upright and are in line with the long axis of the cairn, and it is possible that they are part of a structure concealed within the cairn.
The nature of this monument is uncertain. Some, at least, of the accumulated stones appear to be field clearance stones, and the bulk of the mound may be the result of field clearance activity. However, there is a possibility that the cairn is ancient or incorporates an archaeologically significant core.
Several hawthorn trees growing on the mound, particularly at the SE end.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 30 November 2021

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
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