Barrow, Bigfurze, Co. Westmeath

Co. Westmeath |

Barrows

Barrow, Bigfurze, Co. Westmeath

In a stretch of gently undulating wet pasture in Co. Westmeath, a low earthen mound sits on a slight natural rise, its concave top colonised by thorn trees and its sides gradually accumulating the stones farmers have cleared from surrounding fields over generations.

That slow burial by agricultural debris is part of what makes the site easy to overlook, yet the mound beneath is ancient, a barrow of the kind used across prehistoric Ireland as a place of burial or ritual, typically comprising a raised earthen or stone-built form that marks the interment of the dead.

The mound measures roughly eight metres east to west and seven and a half metres north to south at its crest, sitting within a broader oval platform some seventeen by fourteen metres across, as recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey six-inch map of 1837. That earlier cartographic trace is useful precisely because it preserves the outline of the feature before field clearance obscured its edges. The structure is defined by a low bank of earth and stone running from the north-east around to the west, with natural rock outcrop incorporated at the north-north-west, suggesting the builders made deliberate use of what the local geology offered. The top carries a gentle north-facing slope, and the thorn trees rooted there have likely helped protect the interior from more serious disturbance. Around thirty-seven metres to the east lies a second possible barrow, raising the intriguing prospect that this corner of Westmeath once held a small funerary landscape, two monuments positioned in loose relation to one another across the same quiet pasture.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Barrow, Bigfurze, Co. Westmeath. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement