Discover Alone, back to main map

Man-made underground passage in Moness (burt Ed)

Man-made underground passage

What is recorded here

One chamber faced north, the other east, and a narrow crawl connected them beneath the modern graveyard. Men built that angular hole before records existed, perhaps to store grain, hide tools or exclude light during storms. The quernstone fragment still wedged in the wall suggests grinding, feeding or repeated return. Construction disturbed the passage in 1982, but its shape remains clear: two rooms joined at a right angle, waiting beneath ordinary ground.
In August, 1982, a Man-made underground passage was discovered here and investigated by the staff of the OPW. The Man-made underground passage consisted of two chambers at right angles to one another and connected by a creepway. Chamber I running roughly N-S was 4.3m long × c. 1m wide × c. 1.4m maximum height. A creepway, c. 1.4m long × 0.47m wide and c. O.5m high, led from the SW corner of chamber I into the second chamber. Chamber II was 3m long and from .4m to 1m in width. It ran in a rough E-W direction. A fragment of a quernstone was found wedged in the wall near the W end of the W chamber. The Man-made underground passage came to light in the course of construction work at a modern graveyard (without any ancient associations) and was considerably disturbed. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

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

What survives
Recorded monument

Places near here

Add to this placeAdd a picture Comment or add a tip

Explore 1,118,481 places