Cave

In a rath (MA062-114001). This Man-made underground passage is indicated as ‘Cave’ on the 1837 OS 6-inch map; it is not shown on the 1919 edition. It is of drystone construction and its location in the NW quadrant of the rath is revealed by three adjacent areas of surface collapse. One area of collapse (max. dim. 1.4m) opens into a lintelled passage (Wth 0.85m; H 0.5m) which extends to SE for 3-4m meters and then swings to SSE; at the point where it changes direction there appears to be an opening to NW, possibly a creep. The drystone walls of this passage are neatly constructed of small, thin horizontally-laid slabs. Located 5m to SSW, a second surface opening (max. dim. c. 0.4m) reveals a lintelled passage (Wth c. 0.8m) which slopes down markedly towards the NW for several meters. The walls are constructed of medium-large round stones. A third area of surface disturbance lies 3m to NNW of the latter, and consists of an inaccessible stone-filled cavity (diam. c. 1m; D 0.7m). Immediately to NW a slab, long axis aligned N−S, protrudes from the sod; this may be an in situ lintel. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 26 January 2021