House - indeterminate date

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated just off the summit on the gentle south-western slopes of a hill in enclosed grassland at the north-eastern end of the townland. The house has wide views across the eastern part of the island. Old tillage ridges run right up to the monument on the western and southern sides. An unclassified structure (MA085-009008-) lies c. 50m to NE.

The house appears to have been much disfigured during spade cultivation of the area in earlier times, principally by the robbing of large slabs and dumping of small stones around the perimeter. It consists of a roughly circular area (SSE–NNW 6.8m internally; WSW–ENE c. 7m) defined by a broad but intermittent band of large boulders. The mass of small stones beyond the boulders may have been accumulated during field clearances. Although many of the large boulders look displaced or form no coherent pattern, the remainder suggest that there was once an inner revetment of set slabs and boulders. Short segments of the inner revetment survive at N and E, but in both sectors the slabs appear partially displaced and lean inwards to a marked degree. Only in the western sector does the inner revetment survive in a reasonable condition, comprising an arc (L 1.7m) of four large, contiguous slabs. The southernmost slab is the largest (L 1.7m × Wth 0.3m) standing up to 0.9m high. Traces of an outer revetment also survive here and at N, where the tops of a number of set slabs suggest a wall thickness of c. 1.15m. At N, one slab stands up to 0.9m high, and there is an arc of three contiguous slabs immediately W of it. No trace of any entrance feature is visible. The interior is relatively flat underfoot, save for a grassy hollow just S of centre, which is flanked on W by two mossy boulders.

The above description is derived from: New Survey of Clare Island. Volume 5: Archaeology. Edited by Paul Gosling, Conleth Manning and John Waddell. (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. 2007). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated.

Date of upload: 29 November 2018

References

Gosling, P., Manning, C. and Waddell, J. (eds.) 2007 New Survey of Clare Island, Volume 5: Archaeology. Dublin, Royal Irish Academy.