Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Souterrain
Newrath Big (kells Upper By.), County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Newrath Big (kells Upper By.)
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.72502, -6.90277
- SMR number
- ME016-055----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Located on a low N-S spur at the S base of the Hill of Lloyd. A complex souterrain, the entrance to which is c. 10m inside the boundary of a rath (ME016-055001-) at W, was discovered in May 1998 and recorded fully (Clinton and Manning 2000). It consists of three passages and a beehive chamber. A halfpenny of George II and some slipware was found in one of the passages, and these indicate an earlier discovery in the eighteenth century.
From the present entrance, which is also the original earth-cut drop-entrance shaft (D c. 2m), a lintelled opening (Wth 0.74-0.98m; H 0.85m) entered the curved angle of a passage that runs SE (Wth at floor 1.95-2m; Wth at roof 0.75-1.2m; max. H 1.5m), but it is blocked (L 3m plus) by collapse. From the entrance a second passage also runs SSW (L 8.5m; max. Wth at floor 1.75m; Wth at roof 1m; max. H 1.48m) and then NW (L 9m; max. Wth at floor 1.4m; Wth at roof 0.92m; max. H 1.4m). Towards the end of this passage the roof drops and a dwarf wall (H 0.5m) on the floor allows access through a narrow opening (Wth 1m; H 0.6m) to a shaft that rises through the passage roof to a small upper chamber (dims 1.1m NW-SE; 0.8m NE-SW; H 1m). This chamber opened directly at NW onto a second, narrower and higher passage (Wth at floor c. 0.85m; Wth at roof c. 0.45-0.55m; H c. 1.25m) that runs NNE (L c. 16m; ) to a beehive chamber. There is a cupboard (Wth 0.4m; H 0.4m; D 0.65m) at the S end of the W wall of this passage. A sill marks the entrance to the subcircular beehive chamber (dims of base 4.6m E-W; 4m N-S), the walls of which corbel in (max. H 3.12m) from the floor and which is closed by two stones. There is an air-vent (Wth 0.32m; H 0.15-0.2m; L 1.3m plus) on the N side of the beehive chamber. The rath (ME016-023001-) and souterrain (ME016-023002-) are c. 170m to the WNW.
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of revised upload: 26 February 2019
References
Clinton, M. and Manning, C. 2000 A second souterrain in the townland of Newrath Big, Co. Meath. Ríocht na Mídhe 21, 51-7.
Nearby in the register
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Souterrainunder 1 mi
- Fulacht fiaunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.