Man-made underground passage in Carrickacreagh

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Isolated drystone-built Man-made underground passage, situated in a rocky outcrop immediately S of the railway cutting, which has cut through Passage 2. The Man-made underground passage consists of three passages and a chamber. Passage 1 (L 4.5m, Wth 0.5-1.1m, H 0.5-1.1m) extends W-E, with the original entrance probably at the W where the floor level rises. At the E end of Passage 1 a drop-hole (dims. 0.7m by 0.6m, drop 0.7m from floor level of Passage 1) gives access to a second passage (L 5m, Wth 1m, H 0.7-1.3m) extending W-E and terminating in a sub-rectangular chamber (L 3m, Wth 2m, H 1.4m) which is partially cut into the underlying bedrock. The modern entrance is via a removed lintel of this chamber. A third passage (L 0.8m, Wth 0.5m, H 0.6m) extends N from the middle of the N wall of Passage 2, but is blocked by collapse. The Man-made underground passage is largely rock-cut but in places is lined with drystone masonry to support the lintels. (CLAJ 1904, 37-9)