What is recorded here

One hundred and fifty inverted urns stood guard over human remains in County Louth until a mid-nineteenth-century earthwork removal buried them in confusion. A landowner destroyed most of the collection, yet a careful excavation recovered a cordoned urn beside a bronze razor and stone plaque. The clash between reckless progress and patient discovery still echoes through the lost clay.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Between 150 and 200 'urns' of various types were uncovered in the mid-nineteenth century during removal of an earthwork (LH024-002001-). All were inverted over human remains. Most were subsequently destroyed by the landowner, but an 'excavation' by J. H. Smith (PRIA (C) 1840-5, 259-61) recovered a Cordoned Urn (Kavanagh 1976, 369-70, no. 39) in association with a perforated bone pin, a bronze razor and a stone plaque (NMI reg. no. W 31) (JRSAI 1967, 42).

A Neolithic urnfield burial; significant as a rare survival of funerary practices involving multiple inhumations and urns, reflecting early ceremonial use of the landscape in eastern Ireland.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.