What is recorded here

Six metres of charred stone sit hidden beneath rush grass at Cloonacurry Lough, waiting for water to return. People heated rocks and dumped them into wet earth, making steam rise like a ghost before drainage stole the lake. The mound still breathes heat into memory, even when forgotten.

In a flat expanse of damp, rush-grown pasture, located c. 70m S of the current shoreline at the SE end of Cloonacurry Lough. The 1838 and 1917 OS 6-inch maps indicate that the lakeshore lay closer to the burnt mound in the past; the size of the lake has diminished due to modern drainage practices. This burnt mound was first noted when burnt stone was exposed in February 2015 during ground works in advance of forestry plantation (pers. comm. Michael Cox, 23rd February 2015). It consists of as a very low-profile, circular, grass-covered rise (diam. 6.5m NE–SW; 6.5m NW–SE; H 0.2-0.3m) of firm, dry ground which contrasts with the soft, damp, rush-grown condition of the surrounding field. Concentrations of angular stone chips in a dark-grey soil were noted where the sod cover was denuded. An exclusion zone protects the mound from further disturbance. There is a possible megalithic tomb (MA092-126----) 16m to W. Attached image: MA092-125----_01.JPG shows burnt mound viewed from S Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 11 May 2015

A Bronze Age burnt mound, likely dating to the 1st millennium BCE. Its location near a former lakeshore suggests it may have been part of a seasonal settlement or ritual site associated with water.

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