Mound

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a hillock in the valley of the meandering NW-SE Owenroe or Moynalty River, with the stream c. 120m to the N. The Moynalty hoard, consisting of nine pieces of eight-century AD metalwork, including a highly ornate door-handle probably from a church, was found c. 250m to the N beside the river (Ryan 1987). The mound would have been in full view of Donore House c. 170m to the E before farm sheds intervened. This is a flat-topped grass-covered mound (diam. of top 10.5m E-W; 10m N-S) defined by a scarp (at SE: H 2.5m) and planted with deciduous trees. The base is surrounded by a quarry and outer bank ENE-S-SW. The E half of the mound has been removed and only a small portion of the outer bank survives at S (Roycroft 2018, 3-4, Fig. 21). Archaeological testing (01E1196) by B. Shanahan of a limited area (c. 0.3 ha) c. 50m to the E at the closest point produced no archaeological material (excavations.ie 2001:1014).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 9 April 2019

Amended: 14 October 2025

References

Roycroft, N. 2018 Moynalty Steam Threshing Museum: Threshing field lighting project, Co. Meath. Unpublished desk- based assessment. Author, 2018 Ryan, R. 1987 The Donore Hoard: Early Medieval Metalwork from Moynalty, near Kells, Ireland, Antiquity 61, 57-63.