What is recorded here

Thirty years of rain erased the wall on the east, yet the circular chamber still holds its shape beside the Glaunshavanowen river. Bones surfaced there in earlier decades, prompting the local belief that the earth is a graveyard, but the attached rectangular foundation and oval depression suggest a lived-in rath or early church before death claimed the space. The Ardamore cross-slab lies less than half a kilometre away, linking the hidden chamber to a wider religious landscape.

This roughly circular enclosure lies about 50m from the N bank of the Glaunshavanowen river. Bones have been uncovered here in the past and the site is locally thought to be a graveyard. The enclosure measures 18.5m N-S x 20m E-W internally and is defined by a stone-topped, earthen bank. The bank averages .75m in internal height, but in the SW sector the interior is defined by only a 3m high drop to the exterior, and along the E sector the bank has been destroyed and is replaced by a N-S field wall. The foundations of a rectangular structure abut the inner face of the bank in the S sector. It measures 5.4 x 3.2m and is aligned E-W. A large oval depression, 9.3m E-W x 4m N-S x .5m deep, abuts the N side of the latter. There are possible traces of a hut foundation abutting the W part of the bank but these are confused by several stony mounds which probably mark graves. The presence of the internal structures suggests that this site is more than just a burial ground. Perhaps it was formerly a rath or an early ecclesiastical settlement. The Ardamore cross-slab (KE054-015----) was discovered about 475m to SE. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 878. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.