Cairn - ring-cairn

The National Monuments Service's description

The precise location of this monument is unknown, but it was in an area occupied as a concentrated settlement in the late 19th century, and is now developed as a farmyard. It was situated towards the top of a S-facing slope just down from a col between low hills c. 400m to the W and E and c. 40-50m higher than the col.
It was described by Kinahan (1879-88) as two concentric circles of stones (diams c. 3m and c. 4m), one within the other, enclosing and partly overlying four pits filled with ashes and burnt stone. There was burnt stones and ashes between the rings N-E and S-W, and both the stones and pits were covered with a clay mantle (ext. diam. c. 6-8m). The cairn was at the centre of a complex area where a cist (WX002-043----) and a flat cemetery (WX002-0042----) had been discovered on separate occasions, and there was a fulacht fia (WX002-039----) nearby. The ring-cairn was listed as a possible Linkardstown-type cist (Ryan 1981, 146).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1996). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload/revision: 1 February 2012

References

Kinahan, G.H. 1879-88 On sepulchral and other prehistoric relics. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy C16, 152-63.

Ryan, M. 1981 Poulawack, Co. Clare: the affinities of the central burial structure. In D. Ó Corráin (ed.), Irish antiquity: essays and studies presented to M.J. O'Kelly, 134-46. Cork. Tower Books.