Field boundary in Inishmurray

In cliff face east of Women’s Cemetery (SL001-002007-). At 10 m east of the mill (SL001-022001-), two or three courses of large boulders form an arc of drystone masonry – 3 m wide and less than 1 m high – within steeply banked ground, immediately below the low cliff edge. Above the cliff edge, the ground is uneven and pitted by subsidence or burrowing. When first observed the masonry was thought to represent the remains of a largely eroded kiln, built into the low cliff face, and associated with the adjacent mill (SL001-022001-). Subsequent investigation in 1999 discovered that it was merely part of a low revetment wall retaining cultivated soils (O’Sullivan 2000). A sherd of 17th-century gravel-tempered ware, found during a limited excavation at the site, provides a terminus post quem date for construction of this retaining wall. The above description is derived from the results of a programme of survey and excavation undertaken in 1997-2000 on Inishmurray and published in: Jerry O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Carragáin 2008 Inishmurrary. Monks and pilgrims in an Atlantic landscape. Volume 1: Archaeological Survey and Excavations 1997-2000. Cork. The Collins Press.