Crannog in Lough Gara

In Lough Gara, on the S shore of Inch Island, with views of Mullaghtee and another crannog (SL047-021----) c. 1.3km to E, between Inch Island and Derrymore Island. In the water outside the present and an earlier shoreline on a lake-bed of marl and connected to the shore by a causeway of soil. A low-cairn crannog (22.9m N-S; 20.8m E-W; H 1.94m) with a thin grass cover and a few nettles growing on it. There is a mid-cairn (8.1m N-S; 7.2m E-W) in the N half consisting of well-set angular and subangular stones, mainly sandstone with occasional limestone. A plateau (Wth 2.6-6.2m), consisting of densely packed stones, surrounds the mid-cairn. The edge of the crannog is distinct in material and drops quite sharply into the lake where the stones seem to be capping the marl. Vertical wooden posts surround the crannog. An additional area (6m N-S, 2m E-W) of packed stones is evident on the NW corner, where the crannog joins the low causeway. This crannog has been radiocarbon-dated to the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (Fredengren 2002, KILA 016). Another crannog (SL047-004001-) lies c. 100m to E. (Cross 1953, fig. 1; Fredengren 2000c, 26; 2002, KILA 016) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 219/1955).