Souterrain in Haggardstown

This souterrain was discovered in September 1999 in the course of landscaping the garden of a newly-constructed house. The ground collapsed at the SE end of the W of four linked passages (see attached plan) of an extensive souterrain. Built of drystone construction using field stones in the make-up and roofed with slab lintels, the walls show evidence of corbelling especially in the upper courses. Each of the four passages will be described in turn beginning with that at the W. Passage 1: This is the tallest and widest of the four passages. Orientated NW-SE it is rectangular in plan (L 9.65m x c. 1.1m W; H 1.68m with a slightly curved end wall at the SE. The ground is relatively level except for the build-up of collapse at both ends. Passage 2: This is accessed over a raised clay step at the southern end of Passage 1. There is a sharp descent into this passage which curves slightly on a N-S axis (L 7.2m x c. 0.7m W; H 1.30m). The passage constricts midway along and expands at the junction with Passage 3 where a ventilation shaft opens into its N end. Passage 3: This is accessed from the N end of Passage 2. It consists of a curved passage (L 12m x 0.7m W; H 1.25m) which runs on an E-W axis and terminates in a sub-rectangular chamber-like area incorporating a drop-hole creep to Passage 4. The upper courses of the terminal chamber wall are corbelled. Passage 4: This is accessed from the E end of Passage 3. The passage (L 6.3m x c. 0.65m W; H 1.60m) runs on a WNW-ESE axis and narrows midway along its length. The floor is level and the E end is blocked by collapse. LH012-115----_01.jpg. Sketch plan of souterrain. Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 21 November 2014