Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a fairly low N-S spur at the S base of the Hill of Lloyd. A souterrain at Newrath Big was known from c. 1845 (Hanley 1967, 60) when it was closed but it was re-opened in the 1890s (Healy 1891) and fully surveyed in the 1975 (Sweetman 1975). It consists of a lintelled passage (L 9.8m N-S) which terminates at the S end in a beehive chamber (diam. 3m; H 2m) that was largely filled with stones. The floor and the roof of the passage stepped down (H 0.6; 0.8m) 5m from the entrance to the chamber and the passage curves to the NE N of this point. At its N end this passage makes a hair-pin turn into an E passage (L 6m plus NNE-SSW) that extends southwards. The roof and floor of this passage also stepped down (1m; 0.7m) close to the junction with the W passage, but its S end is blocked by collapse. The present entrance is at the NW edge of rath (ME016-023001-). The rath (ME055001-) and souterrain (ME016-055----) are c. 170m to the ESE.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987), No. 442.

Revised by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 26 February 2019
Amended: 27 November 2019

References

Sweetman, P.D. 1975 Souterrain in the townland of Newrath Big, Co. Meath. Ríocht na Mídhe 6, no. 1, 54.

Healy, Rev. J. 1891 Miscellanea: Report from North Meath. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 21 (1890-91), 594-5.

Hanley, Rev. J. 1970 The Beginnings of Meath's First Weekly. Ríocht na Mídhe, vol. 4, No. 1, 55-60.