What is recorded here

Five people, including two young children, slept inside a shallow circular ditch at Corbally until quarry machines nearly erased them in 2001. The central body lay wrapped in a shroud within a grave lined carefully with contiguous pebbles, while butchered animal bones and an iron spear-point crowded the ditch fill. The enclosure faced east and west, as if admitting both the living and the dead into the same small world.

In 2001, extensive archaeological monitoring of soil-stripping in advance of the development of a large scale sand and gravel quarry resulted in the identification and excavation of a small enclosure containing five burials (Tobin 2001: Excavation Licence Nos. 01E0078; 01E0153; 01E0229 and 01E1007). An almost circular area (11.5m N-S; 11.25m E-W) was defined by a shallow fosse (D 0.2–0.4m; Wth 1.6–1.7m) ). The fosse-fill was humic, with large quantities of animal bone, some of which appeared to be butchered, and also contained an iron spear-point. The enclosure had two, almost opposing entrances: an E entrance with flanking post-holes, and a W entrance which was flanked by a single possible post-hole. The interior contained five burials. A central burial was in a well-defined grave-cut, completely lined by contiguously set pebbles. The body appeared to have been interred in a shroud, given the positions of the feet, legs, arms and scapulae. The other burials in the enclosure may have been buried in shrouds, but the lining of the grave-cuts was either incomplete or non-existent. The burials appeared to represent three adults/adolescents and two children (5–7 years old). Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 21 December 2012

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.