What is recorded here

Crannog in Cortial is a small island in County Louth, Ireland, measuring 23m by 19.5m and rising 0.5m above the water. It sits at the NE edge of a pot-lough, with bog enclosing its NE and NW sides. A possible house platform marks the SW quadrant, while a stone kerb or cairn traces the SE edge. The shape and position suggest people lived here when the lough was wider, using the island as a dry place amid shallow water.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Situated at present on the NE boundary of a small pot-lough. The crannog was originally at the edge of a shallow area which formed the NE part of a lough, figure-of-eight in shape. The NE section of this lough is now bog, which encloses the NE-NW sides of the crannog. The crannog itself (max. dims. 23m N-S, 19.5m E-W) stands 0.5m above the present water-level. There are traces of a stone kerb or cairn on the SE but no visible piling. In the SW quadrant of the site is a possible house platform (2m square, H 0.3m).

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