Crannog

The National Monuments Service's description

This crannóg was listed as Kiltoom 4 and described by O'Sullivan (2004, 73-4) as following; 'Located on a sloping (to W) foreshore strewn with boulders and beach-rolled stone. There are three in-situ boulders embedded in the ground 10m to the N. These have regular, water erosion grooves on their lakeward sides, 20-40cm above surface. This suggests that former lake-levels were at about this height. The lake edge is 5m to SW, former lake-edge 2m to NE. It has extensive views to the NW, W and SW across the lake, and also to nearby crannóga to the NW and SE along the shore. The nearest archaeological site (WM007-114----) is a small, low-cairn crannog, 43m to the NW. Present remains consist of a small, low-cairn crannóg (dims 11.5m N-S x 13m E-W; H 0.5m). It is built of a low, irregular cairn of stones and boulders, and is currently triangular in shape. There is an area of large boulders along the NE side, suggesting an irregular NW-SE oriented kerb there. The cairn has a more distinct kerb along its SW and S sides, consisting of boulders (L 1m; Wth 60cm) on their edges. There is a rubble mound on NW side, possibly due to cairn collapse. The site has been substantially damaged by modem disturbance. The cairn is grassed over, with a bush growing on its N side'. (O'Sullivan et. al. 2007, 124)

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Aidan O'Sullivan.

Date of upload: 6 March 2017

References

O'Sullivan, A. 2004 The social and ideological roles of crannogs in early medieval Ireland. Unpublished PhD thesis. Department of History, NUI Maynooth.

O'Sullivan, A., Sands, R. and Kelly, E.P. 2007 Coolure Demesne crannog, Lough Derravarragh, Co. Westmeath: a crannog and its landscapes. Bray. Wordwell.