Settlement cluster in Glenballythomas

In a slight fold on the gentle S-facing slope at Rathcroghan. An area of c. 2.5 ha (c. 6 acres) within field system (RO022-057032-) and N of the concentric enclosure Relig na Rí (RO022-057037-) contains at least six houses. They appear as grass-covered areas (ext. dims. c. 11m x c. 5m to c. 19m x c. 9.5m) defined by low earthen banks (Wth 1-2.5m; H up to 0.5m) or low scarps, and are integrated with the field banks. Only one has two rooms, but the three largest have entrances in each long wall, while two have no apparent entrances. No street or road can be identified, but the field system is at its most complex here with numerous small paddocks (dims. c. 20m x c. 30m). Three houses placed close together are aligned N-S while the three others are aligned E-W and more dispersed. The house (RO022-057037-) at Relignaree (RO022-057035-), and the other houses investigated there in 1913 (Waddell 1983, 26), are outliers of the settlement. See the attached aerial view looking W where some of the houses can be seen Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 August 2010