Cave — Rathnew

A souterrain located beneath a house site (WM024-066004-) located in W quadrant of conjoined enclosure excavated by Macalister and Praeger (1928), the results of which have been recently re-interpreted by Schot (2006). The conjoined enclosure (WM024-066----) is one of a cluster of monuments situated on the Hill of Uisneach. Nearby monuments include a mound barrow (WM024-173----) 200m to the N, an earthwork (WM024-068----) 390m to the SE, an embanked roadway annotated 'ancient road' (WM024-067----) runs onto the S side of the monument, a ringfort (WM024-063----) and holy well (WM024-60----) lie 390m to the SSW, an earthwork (WM024-065----) lies 290m to the W, a second earthwork (WM024-062---) 270m to the WNW, and a ritual pond known as Logh Lugh (WM024-064002-) 170m to the NW. The souterrain was described by Macalister (1928, 112-4) as following: 'The Upper Chamber is much ruined, owing to the universal spoliation of stones. Nothing is left of it except the mere foundations of two portions of its enclosing wall. These are insufficient to tell us what the masonry of the complete structure was like; but it was probably very rough, and certainly was of stone set in clay. It is impossible to say whether the walls were perpendicular and covered with a horizontal wooden roof, or whether they approximated by oversailing, thus making a dome-shaped structure. So far as the extant fragments permit us to judge, the internal dimensions of the Upper Chamber were 17' [5.18m] north to south, and 15' [4.57m] east to west. It was bounded by a wall, of which nothing now remains except the north-west and the south-east angles, and fragments of the adjacent foundation. The former angle is very obtuse, and the wall is here 4 feet 6 ins. [1.37m] thick. The latter is a fairly well-made right angle, and the wall is here no less than 6 feet [1.8m] thick. The stones used in this part of the building are rather larger, on the average, than those used in the Souterrain. A few remain which measure from 2 ft. 6 ins. [0.76m] to 3 feet [0.9m] in diameter. There was but one chamber in the upper portion of the building. Access to the Souterrain must have been obtained by means of a manhole in the floor of the Upper Chamber. For purposes of description we may divide this part of the structure into three sections, A, B, and C: the first is to the south, the third to the north. Section A is 22' [6.7m] long by 5' [1.52m] broad, but is narrower toward the eastern end. It runs east and west, and at the western end is closed by a straight wall 1 ft. 3 ins. [0.38m] thick, which overhangs the fosse between the outer ramparts of the Enclosure. The walls of the Souterrain are built with oversailing courses; a maximum height of 5 feet [1.5m] remains, in which height there is an oversail of 1ft. 2 ins. [0.35m]. The stones of which this part of the Souterrain is built are field stones, some of them of considerable size, especially in the lower courses. They shew signs of having been for long exposed to the weather, an indication that they were not dressed by the masons who set them in their place. The courses range from about 5 [0.12m] to about 8 inches [0.2m]in height, but the coursing of the masonry is irregular. On the south side, at 9 feet [2.7m] from the western end, there is a square recess in the wall 2 ft. 5 ins. [0.73m] above the floor level. This recess measures 1' 3" [0.38m] in height, 1' 4" [0.4m] in breadth, and 2' 4" [0.71m] in depth. The floor of the recess is formed of one large stone, which runs down the whole way to the foundation of the wall. On the north side at 13' 10" [4.21m] from the western end, there is a recess on the ground level 1' 9" [0.53m] broad by 1' 4" [0.4m] high; it has no stone sill. Section B is separated from Section A by a doorway 2 feet 4 [0.71m] inches across, at the east end of the latter section. It is of irregular shape, measuring about 7' [2.13m] across each way: and is built of smaller stones, on an average, than Section A, though there are some large stones interspersed among them. The building stones, especially the smaller ones, are more angular than are those in Section A. The foundation of the western fragment of the upper wall is 2' [0.6m] above the floor of the Souterrain at the southern end, but rises to 4' [1.2m] at the northern end. There is a recess 3' 9" [1.14m] broad by 2' 5" [0.73m] deep in the eastern wall of the Section, running up to the present top of the masonry. It seems to have been used as a fire-place. It was filled with clay in which were mingled charcoal and ashes from a depth of about 2 ft. [0.6m] from the surface of the ground, down to the bottom of the Souterrain; at the bottom there was a large solid bed of charcoal. There was also a quantity of charcoal against the northern jamb of the doorway leading to Section A, mingled with burnt clay; this spread over on to the floor of Section A. The manhole leading out of the Upper Chamber must have been in the roof of this part of the Souterrain, close to the fireplace. When the fire was burning it seems inevitable that the Upper Chamber was full of smoke. A doorway at the northern end of Section B of the Souterrain leads to Section C. This first runs north-eastward, and then turns north-westward. It was roofed with lintels, of which six remain. On the western side, just inside the entrance from Section B, there is a recess at the floor level, 1' 6" [0.45m] across, 2' [0.6m] high, and 3' [0.9m] deep. It runs right through the wall, to the clay at the back; there is no sign of any masonry at the inner end, nor can it be regarded as a doorway leading to an extension of the Souterrain. There is nothing to call for any special remark in Section C of the Souterrain, except that the floor first rises northward, and then slopes suddenly downward into the part that runs westward: this is 2' 5" [0.73m] below the level of the northward portion. Section C is built of comparatively small stones, and has a rounded end: but just at the entrance, on the western side, there is a stone measuring 3' 6" [1.06m] by 2' [0.6m] by 1' 4" [0.4m]'. On the 1837 edition of the OS 6-inch map the monument is depicted as a large circular ringfort with D-shaped annexe on the E side of the ringfort. On this map a 'Cave' or souterrain is annotated and depicted in the centre of the ringfort, the E quadrant of the ringfort interior has been divided into two small areas defined by earthen banks which run off the N & E side of a rectangular shaped platform located in the S quadrant of the ringfort. This rectangular platform appears to be the foundations of a hut site. A second possible hut site is depicted in the centre of the W annexe on the 1837 edition of the OS 6-inch map. These earthworks are clearly visible on aerial photographs taken 09/07/1964 (CUCAP AJQ092/093/094), 12/07/1966 (CUCAP AOY072/073/074) and 11/07/1969 (CUCAP AYR014/015/016). See attached plan of site taken from Schot 2006 after Macalister and Praeger 1928. Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 13 August 2019