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Man-made underground passage in Lounaghan

Man-made underground passage

What is recorded here

A stubborn cow broke the seal when her leg plunged into a hollowed cavity beside the Lounaghan ringfort, exposing a dark chamber forty centimetres wide and forty-nine centimetres deep. The discovery arrived through animal mistake rather than human patience, turning a ordinary grazing accident into an archaeological event. The path above had been paved with rough flags and boulders, suggesting people once walked that exact line before forgetting it. The chamber may have served as a hidden entrance, a storage pit or a temporary shelter for someone who needed to disappear from sight. It is also possible that a badger or fox dug the space and the human paving belongs to a different era entirely. The cavity gives no answer because it stopped being built before memory began. What remains is a small dark room waiting for the meaning people once gave it.
A hole in the ground which recently opened up beside a ringfort (KE094-009----) when a cow got its leg stuck in it, may be the remains of a possible Man-made underground passage. The hole is c. 70cm to the south of the external base of bank of the ringfort (KE094-009----) along a cow path which appears to have been roughly paved with flags and small boulders at some stage. The hole or cavity consists of a hollowed space 49cm deep, 30cm N-S, 40cm E-W. A large limestone boulder (L 70cm) is immediately adjacent on the east side of the hole. There were no further openings within the hole to suggest access to chambers or creepways. This could very possibly be an animal burrow but the landowner thought thought that the ringfort bank to the north had subsided a little over the years. There was no evidence for this as cattle have accessed the interior of the ringfort at this point and the ‘subsidence’ may be erosion of the bank caused by cattle. Compiled by: Matt Kelleher

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

What survives
Recorded monument

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