County: Donegal Site name: MAGHERACAR
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DG106-011---- Licence number: 01E0683 ext.
Author: Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: Megalithic tomb - wedge tomb
Period/Dating: Neolithic (4000BC-2501 BC)
ITM: E 579539m, N 858714m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.476487, -8.315694
Testing at Magheracar was carried out in August 2003 to identify the true extent of a wedge tomb masked by an overgrown mound, and to assess its state of preservation. The mound consists of a raised area, approximately 1.5m high and 15m in diameter.
Three trenches were manually excavated once the brush was removed. They measured 10m by 1m and radiated from the centre of the mound to beyond its apparent extent. The trenches were specifically sited to divide the mound into three. They revealed a substantial amount, 0.2–0.4m, of modern (19th/20th-century) rubbish covering what appears to be the original mound, consisting of a friable mid-brown clay with stones. The full extent of the original mound was also revealed, defined by a series of kerbstones. The excavated trenches and, more importantly, the removal of the brush and some of the sod revealed a number of large upright stones, conforming almost exactly to the pattern of stones identified by the Megalithic Survey of Ireland. The upper deposit of the original mound was simply exposed and not excavated; consequently, no artefacts or other archaeological materials were uncovered.
Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
