Region Castletown River | Material stone Archaeologists Etienne Ryan | |
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Founded between AD 700 and 1200 | ||
Donaghmore Souterrain is a souterrain and National Monument located in County Louth, Ireland.
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Location
Donaghmore Souterrain is located 3.6 km (2.2 mi) west of Dundalk, near a cluster of houses.
History
Souterrains are underground cave-like structures built as places of refuge and storage, and in Ireland they date between the 8th and 12th centuries.
The souterrain was discovered in 1960 during the construction of a Louth County Council cottage. It was excavated by Etienne Rynne who found trenches, a pit, two post-holes. sherds of souterrain ware, a bronze pin, a whetstone and iron slag.
Description
The souterrain at Donaghmore is a complex of underground tunnels lined with dry stone walls, floors and ceilings, with corbels and lintels. The ceilings are over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height and the total length of tunnel is 80 m (260 ft). It is largely dug into boulder clay but also into Silurian grit.