What is recorded here

Fire destroyed the wooden ring, yet it preserved the planks and the cremated bones within the shallow ditch. The structure stood in Donaghmore between 120 BC and 60 AD, large enough for a person to walk inside but small enough to feel like a chamber rather than a hall. Its sudden loss may have been an accident or a deliberate ending, but the heat completed what building began by forcing the wood and memory into one visible scar.

Discovered during an archaeological testing programme, prior to the construction of the Dundalk Western Bypass (Excavation Licence No. 02E1583). Excavation revealed the remains of a circular foundation trench (diam. c. 6.75m - 7m; max. D 0.48m) which contained carbonised planks indicating that the structure was constructed of wood and destroyed by fire. Cremated remains were discovered in the interior. A calibrated radiocarbon date of 120 BC - 60 AD was obtained from the wood. (O'Donnchadha 2004, 363; NRA website) References: O'Donnchadha, B. 2004 Donaghmore 7. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2002: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 363 (No. 1309). Bray. Wordwell. NRA website available at: http://archaeology.nra.ie/Home/ViewResult/fe09d1e2-da21-4218-9c1e-4383d650149d (Accessed 8 December 2011) Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 8 December 2011

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