Field boundary, Bauville Keeloges And Clonglash, Co. Donegal
Co. Donegal |
Ritual/Ceremonial
In 1981, routine drain digging on the northern slopes of Sheeragh revealed something rather unexpected: ancient field walls lying just beneath the surface.
These stone boundaries were found barely under the turf, sitting above the current cultivation level in what is now boggy, heather-covered terrain. The discovery offers a glimpse into how this landscape was once organised and farmed, long before the bog and heather took hold.
The field walls at Bauville Keeloges and Clonglash represent the remnants of an agricultural system that would have divided and managed the land centuries ago. Their position, so close to the surface yet above today's cultivation level, suggests significant changes in both land use and the natural environment over time. What was once productive farmland has transformed into the wild, waterlogged moorland we see today.
This accidental discovery, documented in the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, reminds us how much history lies hidden beneath Ireland's rural landscapes. The survey, compiled by Brian Lacey and his team in 1983, catalogued field antiquities spanning from the Mesolithic period to the 17th century, revealing layers of human activity across the county. These particular field boundaries, though now surrounded by bog and heather, once marked property lines, enclosed livestock, or defined cultivation plots; silent witnesses to the farming communities who worked this land before nature reclaimed it.