Indicated — An Machaire,an Tearmann

On a tidal channel, located on the SE side of a peninsula, which comprises the townland of Termon, and which juts into a broad, deeply indented bay with a rocky shoreline. The W end of the causeway begins close to a complex of ecclesiastical monuments located on the peninsula, which are the focus of a traditional turas or pilgrimage: Templecrone medieval church (DG048-008001-), graveyard (DG048-008003-), penitential station (DG048-008002-) and Toberfinan and Tobercrone holy wells (DG048-006----; DG048-007----). This monument was inspected in 2018 by the Underwater Archaeology Unit of the National Monuments Service. The remains consist of a roughly built, dry-course ‘wall’ or causeway of boulders and large rocks, which blocks a north-south flowing channel at low tide. The causeway extends roughly east-west, starting at the SE end of a field boundary on the west or mainland side, and extending across the channel eastwards for 49m, where it terminates at an area of higher rock outcrop/small intertidal islet. A second stretch of wall/causeway extends from the SE side of this rock outcrop in a SE direction for a further 11m. The causeway varies in width from 2-3m and has an average height of 0.75m. The stones are largely concealed beneath a covering of seaweed. The function and date of the causeway are unclear; there are a number of possible interpretations. A causeway-like feature of stones is indicated here on the 1836 OS 6-inch map, and individual ‘stepping stones’ are shown on the 1907 edition. It is possible that the remains represent the stepping stones marked on the OS map, but in their current form they are not stepping stones in the traditional sense, i.e. a series of single stones laid across the channel. One possibility is that the original stepping stones are buried beneath the current causeway, which has been enhanced/changed since the OS map was produced. The causeway leads to the ruins of the medieval church of Templecrone and its associated monuments, and appears to form part the turas/pilgrimage route to the church, providing as it does a short cut to that part of the peninsula from the mainland to SE. However, the causeway may also have doubled as a fishweir of some sort. The main section of wall crosses and blocks the small channel at low tide. As a result of this damming effect, the adjacent bay to SW remains largely full of water for most of the ebbing tide. There is a small opening in the middle of the wall where a net or basket could have been set to catch fish on the ebbing tide. Another possibility is that the causeway/weir may have been built to creating a dam and resultant mill pond, which would guide water to a tidal mill. The mill could have been located at the central opening in the weir or at either end. There is, however, no visible evidence for such a structure. Attached images: DG048-013----_01.JPG -extent of causeway shown in aerial view DG048-013----_02.JPG -causeway viewed from E Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 16 August 2018