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Posted by ryaner
4th August 2020ce
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So I finally got to this one, Baur South (Cl. 26) for us pedants. I'd been in the area three times previously and always lucked out. Not this time mofo. What can I say about the Historic Environment Viewer at archaeology.ie except that it's the coolest, most valuable thing on the www for Irish archaeology heads (and guess what: there's now a Historic Environment Map Viewer for the six counties).
Heading north-east from the Lissylisheen/Cahermacnaghten area you emerge from the Hazel scrub as the road veers directly east. Stop here. There's a boundary wall that seems to continue from the west side of the road over to the east. Walk back west and the tomb is north of this wall, about 250 metres from the road.
The 1961 photo of the tomb shows it in a typical craggy Burren field, open to the air and able to breathe. Alas no more. It's now coralled within a copse of the dreaded hazel scrub, inundated with vegetation that teemed with midges and flies on the last day of July. It's kinda sad and a tad frustrating.
Still and all it was a treat. The box within a box doesn't make any logical sense. No harm there. The outer 'skin' is said to have the remains of more outer walling, but this, and the transversely set entrance stones, were not visible in its present condition. We didn't stay long, attacked by swarms of insects, and with the hunger growing on us from a long day out, we fled down the road to Poulnabrone, civilised and staid, and then back to reality.
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Posted by ryaner
4th August 2020ce
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Posted by ryaner
4th August 2020ce
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Most people visit Gleninagh for the tower house and the storm beach. Down the track off the Ballyvaughan to Black Head road and there's also a holy well, some fulachtaí fia, the remains of a bawn and a 'house of indeterminate age'.
The very scant remains of a wedge tomb are what we're looking for. Beyond the tower house, towards the storm beach, there are two parallel, reasonably thick slabs embedded in the ground, aligned roughly north-south. They're not much and it's surprising that they're still here, given the needs of the construction of the tower house, but here they are. Maybe it was superstition that stopped its complete destruction.
The usual summer growth stopped me from investigating further - there may be more stones there. The two visible sidestones are heavily embedded in the turf. The storm beach is really rather magnificent. If you're passing, maybe heading to Fanore or Moher, you could spend a while here and be well rewarded.
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Posted by ryaner
4th August 2020ce
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Posted by ryaner
3rd August 2020ce |
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