Barrow - ring-barrow

The National Monuments Service's description

Surveyed in 2012 and described by McGuinness (2012, 26) as following: ‘Very large, high relief, roughly circular ring-barrow (Diam. 49m NE-SW), situated in undulating pasture to SW of broad summit of hill. Monument is fairly well‐preserved except at W and SE sides where outer bank has been severely damaged and partly removed; overall diameter on NW-SE axis has consequently been shortened to 44m. Monument comprises a central, steep‐sided, mound or platform with flattish to slightly-convex upper surface, surrounded by a ditch, from 3.8-5.2m in width and mostly flat-bottomed except where mound and bank have partly slipped in on N side; and an outer bank, 8m in width where best preserved. Bank is best preserved at N and SW sides, where it rises 1.1m and 0.7m respectively above external ground level, and 2.05m and 1.45m respectively above base of ditch. There is a gap of 20m where bank has been mostly removed on W side; and, where a trackway cuts through monument at SE side, bank appears to have been removed for 16m from NE to SW, and for another 11m in a SW direction has been greatly reduced in size. Maximum depth of ditch below and perpendicular to a line joining top of bank to upper surface of platform on N and SW sides is 1.45m and 1.3m respectively. Central mound appears to rise above external ground level from W through N to NE side. Its basal diameter is 26m N-S x 27m E‐W and it rises up to 1.4m above base of ditch at NW and SE sides. A second, almost identical ring-barrow (WM011-104----) lies less than 200m to NE; a low but well-formed knoll begins to rise only 1.6m to NNW, but there are no upstanding traces of any monument on this. The ‘trackway’ that cuts through SE side of monument is in fact the reused upper surface of a large flat-topped bank, running NE-SW, with ditch preserved on NW side (WM011-104---). This bank and associated ditch appear to be a part of the monument identified by Kane (1916-17) as the ‘Black Pig’s Dyke’ (pers. comm. Tommy Cassidy), based on an interpretation of placenames, folklore and medieval literary sources. Mound or cairn on summit of Frewin Hill (WM011-133----) is very prominent c.0.65km to S, and bowl-barrow on western spur of Frewin Hill (WM011-139----) is prominent on skyline a similar distance to SSW. Lough Owel is visible to SE’.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by David McGuinness.

Date of upload: 23 February 2015

References

Kane, W.F. de Vismes 1917 Additional researches on the Black Pig's Dyke. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 34C, 539-63.

McGuinness, D. 2012 The prehistoric burial mounds and related monument of County Westmeath. Part I - Preliminary account of the monuments in the Lough Owel Area (Barony of Corkaree and part of Barony of Moyashel & Magheradernon). Unpublished survey funded by Westmeath County Council in association with Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society.