Crannog

The National Monuments Service's description

In the water outside the W edge of a drumlin, in a visually strategic position near the outflow of Lough Gara into the Boyle River. Most of the view is cut off by the surrounding drumlins but mountain tops such as the Curlews and Mullaghtee can be seen in the distance. A drop-shaped low-cairn crannog (19.7m N-S; 13.4m E-W; H 1.16m above the lake-bed) with an even surface of gravel and small subangular stones (diam. 0.05-0.1m) as well as a loose scatter of limestone boulders. The majority of the stones are well-set into the ground and the island is, to a large extent, probably natural, perhaps built by cutting off the tip of the drumlin with a channel a few metres wide. Two causeways are connected to it: one (8.3m E-W) connects with the shore to the E and consists of subangular stones (c. 0.3-0.4m) packed in at least two layers; the other (7.6m N-S; 1.4m E-W) which leads out in a NNW direction to a large boulder (1.7m x 1.1m) in the water is more neatly built, appears more stable and consists of smaller stones. The edge of the crannog is partially submerged and slopes down gradually. The crannog has a sparse cover of grass and a few bushes. A lacustrine enclosure (SL045-016----) is c. 200m to N. A crannog (SL045-009----) is c. 250m to ENE. (Fredengren 2002, KILA 002)

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