An Claondoire Burial Cairn above Lough Aghnish

Crowning a prominent, steep-sided hill rising from an expanse of boggy ground on the NE shore of Aghnish Lough. A promontory fort (DG056-002----) occupies a small promontory jutting into the NW end of the lough. The lough occupies a natural hollow bordered at SE−SW by the steeply rising slopes of a high rocky, heather and sedge-covered ridge. From the cairn, the lough dominates the view to W; to NE the boggy ground gives way to views of a sea inlet and coastal lowlands in the middle distance, with the summit of Errigal Mountain visible on the far horizon to ENE. A substantial oblong or roughly oval cairn (22-23m N−S; c. 15m E-S; H 1-1.5m) of loosely heaped, large stones and boulders, its shape dictated by the available space on the hill summit. It appears to be set in by c. 0.5-1m from the break of slope of the summit on the N and E side but merges with the slope at S and W. The outer edges of the cairn and portions of the SW and W slopes are cloaked in mossy sod and heather, and the cairn is concealed by bracken for much of the year. The cairn has been disturbed in the past; a number of subcircular or irregular-shaped depressions (diam. 1-2m; D 0.4-0.5m) are visible in its surface, and on the NW side cairn stones have been used to build a low ‘wall’ (Wth 0.4m; H 0.5m) defining a small roughly circular space (max. dims. 2.5m) open to W. Notified to NMS by Michael Gibbons DG056-004----_01 Viewed from NE DG056-004----_02 View over lake from cairn DG056-004----_03.JPG Small 'enclosure' built into NW edge of cairn DG056-004----_04.JPG Disturbance at S end of cairn Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 5 May 2022

Neolithic burial cairn, dating to approximately 3000–2500 BCE. Its location on a prominent hill suggests ritual or ceremonial significance, possibly linked to early agricultural communities in the region.