What is recorded here

Six cobble cairns and a circular hut wait beneath the shifting dunes east of Mountcharles, exposed only when wind, cattle and water strip the sand away. They mark a forgotten foreshore life where people stacked stones beside a dwelling to claim identity, measure tide or remember the dead. The sea keeps taking the place back, but the cairns reappear whenever the dune retreats, proving the coast still remembers its own lost neighbour.

This is one of six cairns (DG099-021001- to DG099-021006-), located close to a circular stone hut site (DG099-020----), which were observed near the foreshore in sand dunes to the east of Mountcharles in September 2010. The features lie on a sand spit orientated SE−NW between an estuary and Donegal Bay. The features have been exposed by the erosion of a large sand dune, exacerbated by cattle grazing as well as stream erosion from the creek of Warren Channel to the NW. They cover an area c. 20-25m². The six cairns (DG099-021001- to DG099-021006-) are located seaward, and within c. 11m of the circular hut site (DG099-020----). The cairns, which consist of roughly circular heaps of beach cobbles, range in diameter from 1.6m to 4.65m, rising up to 1m high above the sand. Cockle, mussel and razor shells are scattered around the exposed area, as well as modern debris. (Pers. comm. Edward Pollard, 5th September 2010). Attached images: DG099-021001- to DG099-021006-_01.JPG cairns viewed from E DG099-021001- to DG099-021006-_01.JPG cairns viewed from W Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 10 September 2010

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