What is recorded here

An Atharla is a children's burial ground on a rocky Galway knoll, marked by six crossed stones clustered near a broken pillar. The site faces the Inis Mór shore, where the boundary between the living and the dead becomes as thin as seawater.

On a small rocky knoll overlooking N shore of Inis Mór. Known locally as An Atharla (Robinson 1980), it consists of a rectangular area (36m by 8m) delimited by modern field walls except on NW where the grassy foundations of an old wall are visible. Apart from a number of small set stones, at E end, there are also six others with crosses (see GA111-003003- to GA111-003007- and GA111-003009-) all concentrated near a broken cross-inscribed pillar (see GA111-003002-). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Updated by: Olive Alcock Date of revised upload: 3 May 2016

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