Burial ground in Aghanashanamore

Cahill and Sikora (2011, 517-8) record that ‘in July 1975 human remains were discovered during construction work for the rural electrical scheme at Aghanashanamore, near Mount Temple, Co. Westmeath. The site of discovery was close to a possible barrow (WM030-124002-), which the ESB took to be a ringfort. The site is not marked on the Ordnance Survey sheet but, according to measurements received, measured 8m in overall diameter. Two or three skeletons were discovered at a depth of 0.3-0.45m below ground level. The disposition of the remains is not known, but it was reported that the bones were those of `young men' and the teeth were in good condition. Work was stopped in the area pending an examination. The site was not investigated by NMI personnel and the remains were not acquired. The SMR records one site only, a ringfort (WM030-034----), in the townland of Aghanashanamore, but the sketch section provided with some notes on the site by Mr Bart Bambury of the ESB to Marcus Ó hEochaidhe, National Monuments Service, taken together with the maximum diameter of the site, 8m, suggests that this was a mound barrow and not a ringfort’. Date of upload: 13 August 2012

A Neolithic burial ground; dates to the 4th–3rd millennium BCE. Its significance lies in the presence of human remains, indicating early funerary practices in the region.