Building, Buncrowey, Co. Sligo
Co. Sligo |
Utility Structures
At Buncrowey in County Sligo, tucked into the south-eastern corner of an ancient enclosure, sits a small stone structure that raises more questions than it answers.
Measuring just 4.6 metres east to west and built to an irregular plan, it survives today as little more than a basal course, the lowest remaining layer of firmly-set stone blocks that once formed its walls. That it endures at all, even in this reduced state, is quietly remarkable.
The structure sits within a wider enclosure, the kind of defined boundary, typically formed by an earthen bank or stone wall, that was a common feature of early medieval Irish settlement and farming landscapes. What makes this particular building of interest is the ambiguity of its function. It shows traces of a possible internal division, suggesting that at some point its interior was subdivided, perhaps to separate animals from stored goods, or to partition one working area from another. The fieldworker who examined the site concluded it was most likely an outbuilding rather than a place where people lived, a small agricultural or storage structure subordinate to whatever activity the enclosure as a whole once served.