Passage tomb in Kilmonaster Middle

This monument is known only from Thomas Fagan's (1845-8) account, which was written in 1846, some years after it had been removed. He was informed locally that it was a cairn of white stones in which 'several stone coffins' containing human bones had been found. One of the 'coffins' was said to have contained a full skeleton accompanied by a 'brass hatchet'. The precise location of this monument is not known, but according to Fagan it was on the holding of John Stewart and adjoined the W side of the road running N-S through the townland. It is clear from land valuation records (Griffith 1848-64) and related maps that in or around 1857 a parcel of land occupied by John Stewart opened onto both sides of the road for a distance of c. 170m. The southern and northern limits of this stretch of ground are 4.5cm and 6.2cm from the southern edge of OS 6-inch sheet 70. This would place the monument c. 150m W of Site A, the cruciform passage tomb in the townland. It has been suggested (Ó Nualláin 1968b, 12) that a slight mound c. 90m N of Site E in the same townland may mark the location of this site, but as it lies to the N of what was the Stewart holding this seems unlikely. The precise nature of this monument is unclear, but its proximity to a small group of passage tombs suggests that it may have been another one. Fagan's account can also be interpreted as referring to a cemetery mound containing cists (Waddell 1990). Fagan 1845-8, book 10, 30; Ó Nualláin 1968b, 12; Herity 1974, 214, Dg. 7; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 36, no. 81; Ó Nualláin 1989, 127; Waddell 1990, 73; RMP 1995, 70:63. Kilmonaster Middle (Site G). The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 No archaeological significance NGR 22734 39764 Excavation Licence No. 05E0801 Pre-development testing was carried out on 18 July 2005 at a site in advance of its development at Kilmonaster Middle townland, Ballindrait, Co. Donegal. The proposed development, which consisted of the construction of a silage pit, dung pit, effluent containment tank and dry-bed cattle shed, was located within the constraint area for an archaeological complex, the Kilmonaster Passage Tomb cemetery. The nearest monument of the complex, a passage tomb, was 5m from the proposed containment tank. The cattle shed was 24m from the same monument. As the groundworks involved in the construction of the cattle shed consisted of four pits (1m by 1m by 1m deep) located along one side of the proposed structure, it was decided to concentrate the test-trenches at the proposed containment tank location. Three trenches were excavated, which measured 16.3m, 33m and 36.3m long, 0.9-1.3m wide and 0.1-1m deep. Below the topsoil were fill, grey/brown friable silt loam, orange/brown loose loamy sand and bedrock. A number of modern pottery sherds and one worked piece of flint were found in the topsoil. The fill consisted of soil and rocks and was located along the line of a field boundary. The friable silt loam contained a small number of animal bone fragments (from a calf) at c. 0.3m below the surface. The loamy sand was sterile. The landowner had informed me prior to the testing that livestock had been buried along this field boundary in years gone by, so the finding of bone was not a surprise. The stray find of worked flint in the topsoil was also not surprising, considering the proximity of the passage tomb (Excavations Bulletin 2005). Richard Crumlish, 4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.