Aghnaskeagh Cairns
Carna Áth na Sceach
Aghnaskeagh Cairns is located in Ireland
Aghnaskeagh Cairns
Shown within Ireland
LocationAghnaskeagh, Jenkinstown,
County Louth, Ireland
RegionCooley Peninsula
Coordinates54°03′41″N 6°21′29″W / 54.061279°N 6.357918°W / 54.061279; -6.357918
Typechambered cairns
History
Materiallimestone
Foundedc. 4000–2500 BC
PeriodsNeolithic
Site notes
ArchaeologistsEmyr Estyn Evans
Public accessyes
Official nameAghnaskeagh
Reference no.326

Aghnaskeagh Cairns is a chambered cairn and portal tomb forming a national monument in County Louth, Ireland.[1][2][3]

Location

Aghnaskeagh Cairns are located 2.1 km (1.3 mi) south of Slieve Foy, to the west of the N1.[4][5]

History and archaeology

The two cairns may have been connected by a gallery.

Portal tomb

The northern cairn is a dolmen (portal tomb) with the capstone missing. Two portal stones (2.8 m / 9 ft high) and a back stone remain. Six Bronze Age cist burials were later added. Archeologists found potsherds, cremated bone, food vessels and a blue glass bead on the site, as well as the remains of blackberries under one of the cists, presumably as grave-goods.[6]

Chambered cairn

The southern cairn is a chambered cairn with four cists at the eastern end. Excavations revealed cremated bone, potsherds and scrapers. A burial was also made here in the early Christian era. [7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Louth County Development Plan 2015 – 2021 Volume 2c Appendix 18 Record of Protected Structures" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Holdings: Excavations at Aghnaskeagh, County Louth, Cairn A." 1935.
  3. ↑ Evans, E. Estyn (1 January 1937). "Excavations at Aghnaskeagh, Co. Louth, Cairn B: Irish Free State Scheme of Archæological Research". Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society. 9 (1): 1–18. doi:10.2307/27728454. JSTOR 27728454.
  4. ↑ "Aghnaskeagh Chambered Cairn".
  5. ↑ Smyth, Jessica (29 May 2014). Settlement in the Irish Neolithic: New discoveries at the edge of Europe. Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781842174975 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Flanagan, Laurence (29 October 1998). Ancient Ireland: Life Before the Celts. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 9780717163670 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Aghnaskeagh Cairns".
  8. ↑ "Aghnaskeagh Cairns and Portal Tomb, Louth, Ireland". 27 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Solutions, MOR. "ASI Louth - Exhibition - Studying the Ancient Mind - Aghnaskeagh".
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