Barrow, Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare

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Barrows

Barrow, Cahermacnaghten, Co. Clare

On the exposed limestone plateau of the Burren, a broad earthen ring sits quietly within one of the area's extensive ancient field systems, its purpose still not entirely settled.

The feature, roughly 23 metres across from east to west, is defined by a bank some five to six metres wide, which gives it a presence on the ground that is hard to miss once you know to look. Whether it functioned as a barrow, a burial mound raised over the dead in prehistoric times, or simply as an enclosure used to manage land or livestock, remains an open question.

The Burren's limestone uplands preserve an extraordinary density of ancient monuments, in part because the thin soils and sparse later settlement left so much undisturbed. This particular feature sits on a slight south-facing slope and belongs to a very large field system that stretches across the surrounding ground, suggesting a landscape that was carefully organised and worked, probably over many centuries. Roughly 460 metres to the south-east lies Cahermacnaghten, a stone-walled circular fort, or caher, of the kind common across the Burren, which adds further weight to the sense that this was once a well-populated and actively managed stretch of country. The earthen bank here contrasts with the drystone construction typical of the region, which is itself part of what makes the feature notable and its classification uncertain.

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