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Archeology of the townland

On Ordnance Survey Map 67 of the archeological survey of Mayo there are 85 archeological monuments identified.

Archaeology sites in Kiltarnet
ABBEY 1

ALTAR 2

BARROW POSSIBLE 1

BUILDING 2

BULLAUN STONE 1

BURIAL 1

BURIAL GROUND 1

CASHEL 2

CASTLE 3

CHAPEL 1

CHURCH 1

CRANNOG 1

CRANNOG (S) POSSIBLE 2

CROSS-INSCRIBED STONE 1

EARTHWORK 5

EARTHWORK POSSIBLE 2

ECCLESIASTICAL REMAINS 3

ENCLOSURE 25

ENCLOSURE POSSIBLE 3

GRAVEYARD 2

HOLY WELL 3

HOUSE SITE 1

HUT SITE POSSIBLE 2

INSCRIBED STONE 1

IRON WORKING 1

LEACHT CUIMHNE 1

MEGALITHIC STRUCTURE 1

PROMONTORY FORT 1

QUERN STONE POSSIBLE 2

SETTLEMENT DESERTED 2

SOUTERRAIN 6

STANDING STONE 1

STANDING STONE -PAIR 2

WATERMILL -HORIZONTAL 1

A copy of the survey map should be obtained, scanned , the townland outlined and added to the history. Photographs should be obtained of the monuments still extant.

The following was obtained from http://www.iol.ie/~sec/sites.htm

A Brief Guide To Irish Archaeological Sites

This page is intended as a brief intorduction to some of the many types of archaeological monuments which can be seen in Ireland. It is constantly updated so check back regularly.

Wedge Tombs

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There are about 505 wedge tombs known in Ireland. These megalithic tombs are characterized as having a gallery constructed with side-stones which decrease in height from the western to the eastern end, and are either parallel or give it a wedge-shaped appearance. They usually have an outer revetment walling which is close set and emphasizes the wedge shape. They are roofed with large stones which sit directly on the walls of the gallery and are usually oriented north-east to south-west, and the entrance, placed at east, is often closed by a single stone. At Ballyedmonduff, Co. Dublin, there was a small ante-chamber placed at the east end. Some sites interpreted as wedge tombs are quite small, such as Reananiree, Co. Cork, which measures a little over 1m in length, and appear to overlap, morphologically, with Bronze Age cist graves.

Ceremonial Enclosures

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Another type of public monument consisted of a circular to oval area defined by either a bank, ditch, standing stones or a combination of these. These sites are described in the literature as embanked enclosures, which appear to relate to the henges of Britain, and stone circles. The embanked enclosures of the Boyne Valley region in Co. Meath can be up to 110m in diameter with a flat-topped earthen bank enclosing a circular to oval domed or hollowed area with a single entrance. The site at Monknewtown, Co Meath, for example, enclosed a cemetery of cremations, mainly in pits, and a ring-ditch; associated with beaker pottery and dated to 1860±45 uncal bc. This activity post-dated the construction of the site but indicated that it continued in use well into the Bronze Age.

Bronze Age Burials

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The Bronze Age period lasted in Ireland from about 2500 BC to about 500 BC and the burials of the period

show a wide degree of variety with both pits and stone cists used. The pits can be simple holes or can be stone lined and range from circular to oval. More substantial stone built rectangular and polygonal cist graves, like at Keenoge, Co. Meath, were also used. The cist were also buried in holes in the ground. In some instances the cists can assume the proporations of small underground megalithic tombs. The human remains were prepared for burial in a number of ways. Some were placed in extended position into large pits, or in contracted and flexed positions in smaller pit and cists. There is evidence that individuals were bound or tied before burial. On occasion the remains might be stored until the flesh had decayed enough for the bones to separate or disarticulate, and were then interred. Or the remains could be either partially or completely cremated on a funeral pyre. The remains were then collected, and sometimes after further crushing or cleaning placed into the grave, often in a pottery container. The remains were often accompanied by decorated pottery vessels, referred to as food vessels or cinerary urns and less often with objects of stone and bronze. The burials were frequently made in cemeteries which were in use for hundreds of years. These cemeteries might either be in stone built cairns or earthen barrows or were flat.