Crannog

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated at the SE end of Mount Dalton Lough. Depicted as a roughly oval-shaped, tree-planted outline on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map and the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map. Monument described in 1981 as a roughly circular-shaped crannóg (dims. 31m E-W; 27m N-S) enclosed by a stone kerb, behind which is a matrix of limestone blocks (dims. 0.3m x 0.2m). It rises 1.4m from the present water level. The surface of the crannóg is flat and rises (H 1.4m) above the present water level. There are no obvious signs of any stakes or piling around the perimeter of the crannog. There are no traces of any house platforms or habitation features within. Monument is visible today as a small island at the SE end of Mount Dalton Lough on Digital Globe aerial photography.
Described by O'Sullivan (2004, 113-4) as following; 'Located towards the southern end of Mount Dalton Lough (220m from southwest shoreline), a medium-sized lough, southwest of Rathconrath. This crannóg is a circular low-cairn (dims. 27m N-S x 31m E-W; H 2.4m, 1.45m from present water level), built of small to medium-sized limestone slabs (20cm length, 20cm width), stones and pebbles. It has a flat upper surface and an even profile, with sharply sloping sides, and is defined all around its edge by a low kerb of stone slabs placed around the perimeter. There were also some vertical wooden stakes or piles at two locations at the site’s edge. It is separated from the shoreline by c. 220m of water and marshy ground. The crannóg is heavily overgrown by mature deciduous trees (oak, beech, alder)'.

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

Date of upload: 10 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 Unpublished PhD thesis.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.