Graveslab, Dún Lúiche Íochtarach, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Tombs & Memorials

Graveslab, Dún Lúiche Íochtarach, Co. Donegal

At the southern base of Errigal mountain in County Donegal, beside the Devlin river and near the southeastern end of Dunlewy Lough, lies a fascinating early Christian site.

The remains consist of a subcircular enclosure, its boundaries still faintly traceable through the slight remnants of a stone wall. Within this ancient perimeter, a stone building survives in the mid-western section, though time has reduced it to just 0.3 metres in height. The structure measures 8 metres east to west and 5 metres north to south internally, with openings visible in the middle of both the northern and southern walls.

The southeastern quadrant of the enclosure contains a scatter of stones amongst which several intriguing features emerge. A cross-slab stands 0.5 metres high atop a low stone mound in the northwestern area of this scatter, measuring 24 centimetres wide and 8 centimetres thick. Its western face bears a grooved cross with distinctive forked terminals at each extremity of the arms and shaft, whilst the centre features a small depression encircled by two concentric rings. Just south of this cross-slab, two standing stone slabs mark the ground, with a semicircular arrangement of loose stones, 3 metres wide and 0.3 metres high, partially surrounding the cross-slab's southern side.

Historical records paint a richer picture of the site's past. An 1857 report documented four circular buildings, each approximately 14 feet in diameter, positioned to the south and southeast of the enclosure's centre, though these structures are no longer visible today. The location, set on level ground in wet but reasonable pasture, speaks to centuries of human activity in this spot, from early Christian worship to later agricultural use. This archaeological record was compiled as part of the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, which catalogued the county's field antiquities from the Mesolithic Period through to the 17th century.

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