Mount Ash — Ash Big

A roughly circular mound (max. diam. c. 51m at base, c. 29m at top, H 5.8m-6.8m) with remains of fosse (max. Wth at top 11.5m, Wth at base 2m) all around. There is a large bank (Wth c. 3.7m originally, now max. Wth 7.2m) outside the fosse from NE-NW. The surface of the top of the mound is uneven and slopes downwards towards the centre where it has been quarried. Stone facing can be seen in the S face of the mound in its mid section. The outside of the bank is faced with drystone work, probably modern, which extends across the fosse at the W and NE sides of the mound and forms a facing to the base of the motte where the bank is absent. The site was partially excavated in 1872 (Reade 1875, 322), and pottery and a bronze prick spur were found near the base of the mound. A Man-made underground passage (LH006-073002-) is situated in the W portion of the motte and another (LH006-072----) is c. 50m to the W. (Orpen 1908, 254-5; M W 1908, 85; Wright 1758, bk I, pl. VI) The above 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: 17 July 2007