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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Field system

Bigwood, County Westmeath, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Field system, Bigwood, County Westmeath, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Bigwood
County
Westmeath
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not indicated
Coordinates
53.73626, -7.31237
SMR number
WM003-008002-

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1636 map "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

Historical maps covering this location

  • 1636 · Vltoniae Orientalis Pars (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
  • 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the summit of a hill known locally as 'The Hill of Mael' with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. Cashel (WM003-008----) standing inside a large possible trivallate hillfort (WM003-008001-) with possible prehistoric meandering field system running across the hill. The remains of two meandering drystone field walls radiate out from the cashel (WM003-008---) at NNE and NNW. Field wall A (L 113m) runs off the NE face of cashel wall and runs from SW-NE. Field wall B (L 190m) runs off N face of cashel and is orientated on a SE-NW axis. A third meandering drystone field wall B (L 270m) runs SE-NW across the W facing slope of the hill with a fourth drystone field wall D (L 235m) located 250m to W which runs from SE-NW. The meandering field walls are clearly visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011 and are clearly different from the straight running post-1700 field walls visible on aerial photographs.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 23 November 2017

References

ASIAP - Archaeological Survey of Ireland Aerial Photographs (c. 1996 - c. 2010).

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Field system in Westmeath All County Westmeath records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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