What is recorded here

Gortaficka holds a pit-burial, meaning someone was lowered into a dug hole rather than laid in a chamber or mound. The exact age and identity remain unrecorded, but the act is clear: a body, a container or wrapping, and soil pressed back above. That simplicity belongs to many eras and many cultures. In Clare, it may have been a child, an outcast, a traveller or a person whose family could not afford a visible monument. The pit removes the dead from sight but also from pride. It is a quiet judgment or a practical choice. Either way, the ground closed, the name faded, and the living continued.

The Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is in the process of providing information on all monuments on The Historic Environment Viewer (HEV). Currently the information for this record has not been uploaded. To access available information for research purposes please make an appointment in advance with the Archive Unit (open Fridays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, The Custom House, Dublin 1 D01W6XO or email NMarchive@housing.gov.ie.

A pit-burial; likely Bronze Age. Its significance lies in contributing to the understanding of early burial practices in the region.

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