Barrow - ring-barrow

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, on the spine of a ridge which affords panoramic views. Part of a small barrow cemetery consisting of an adjacent bowl-barrow (SL033-039002-) immediately to E and another larger bowl-barrow (SL033-039001-) c. 30m to S. Excavation in 1993 (Mount 1995a, 81-5) showed that this ring-barrow consisted of a low circular mound (diam. 6m; H 0.5m above fosse) enclosed by a shallow penannular fosse (Wth 0.36m at base, 1.6m at top; D 0.68m) with a low external bank (Wth 1.7m; H 0.25m above original ground level) SE-NE; no fosse or bank existed along the E arc where they respect the fosse and low bank of the adjacent bowl-barrow (SL033-039002-). A number of pits were uncovered in the mound, two of which contained small quantities of bone fragments, and in the base of the fosse at W there was a deposit of charcoal and cremated bone (Mount 1998, 21). A sample of charcoal from one of the pits in the mound was radiocarbon dated to cal. BC 114-71 AD (ibid.).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005).

Date of upload: 18 January 2008