Man-made underground passage in Rathdoony More,rathdoony Beg

A description of a Man-made underground passage is contained in the topographical files of the NMI. The Man-made underground passage consisted of a linear stone-lined passage (L c. 8m NNW-SSE; Wth c. 1m; H c. 2m) roofed with stone lintels. At the NNW end the passage led, via a slightly curving passage (H 0.8m) and a step, to a roughly oval stone-lined chamber (long axis E-W). Midway along the linear passage were two narrow parallel passages leading up in a SW direction towards the surface, possibly air-vents. Immediately to N of these shafts the roof of the passage is lower than elsewhere, while immediately to the S of them the passage narrows and is filled with earth. At the SSE end of the passage, crude steps were noted beside which was a 'heap of ashes mostly burned timbers' under c. 0.5m of clay. The exact location of this Man-made underground passage is not known. (NMI) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008