Aghnaskeagh Cairns

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

Aghnaskeagh Cairns
Carna Áth na Sceach
Shown within Ireland
LocationAghnaskeagh, Jenkinstown,
County Louth, Ireland
RegionCooley Peninsula
Coordinates54.061279°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

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. http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Publications/Development-Plans/Louth-County-Council-Development-Plans/Volume-2-C-Appendix-18-Record-of-Protected-Structures.pdf
  2. "Holdings: Excavations at Aghnaskeagh, County Louth, Cairn A."
  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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