The Mound of Down and Clough Castle

 The Mound of Down

The County of Down includes a very small part of Belfast City, Downpatrick (burial place of Saint Patrick), the Ards Peninsula, Mourne mountains and a host of inland and Seaside towns and villages.

Visiting several other sites of interest in the area I noticed a sign for the "mound of Down" and curiosity got the better of me.

First off though I'll mention Clough Castle, a fine example of Anglo-Norman Motte and Bailey defensive construction.

These consisted of the Motte, usually a large grassy hemisphere atop of which (in Ireland) were often built wooden Castles or fortified Anglo-Norman wodden homes.

Beneath the Motte was to be found the Bailey which was often but not always, rectangular in shape and also fenced or fortified.

Within the safe environs of the Bailey various types of domesticated livestock could be housed or alternatively rounded up into during times of danger or uncertainty or at night perhaps.

Here they would be relatively safe from predators or rustlers.

The Baily at times could also contain the homes of serfs or soldiery.

The Baily, in certain unusual circumstances might occasionally consist of concentric rings of earthen banking and ditches, such as the style at Granard Motte and Bailey in County Longford.

The Motte and Baily at Clough is very well preserved and it's well worth stopping up at the garage beside it and taking time out to go up to see it properly.

Unusually it has a stone structure on top which you don't often come across in Ireland as most of the Motte fortifications were, as previously mentioned, constructed in a hurry by the new arrivals and made of wood.

The Stone you see on top are the remnants of a later "Tower house", probably 17th Cty.

However, sub-surface there are the remains of some 13th Cty stone foundations indicating a stone built building which only was slightly subsequent to the original wooden Castle.

On continental Europe these Mottes can be extremly massive and often they house large scale stone built Castles on top.

Ireland's examples are generally smaller, more numerous and devoid of stone built fortifications, the Motte at Clough being a quite delightful exception to the usual rules.

The Baily here at Clough is also of an irregular shape and not at all rectangular.

Returning now to the 

mound of Down.

From what I gather the mound of Down originally predates any Norman or Anglo-Norman construction.

There is a steep outer bank and once past that, lying in an egg shaped enclosure, a further ditch and U shaped mound.

This has been postulated as either an unfinished or a damaged work of some type.

It is also posited as a possible Hill Fort. These were Bronze age constructions.

There is a further possibility in that it may have been an Iron age Ring Fort.

And finally, to my untrained eye, it looks decidedly like a badly damaged Bronze age Bowl Barrow but much bigger.

Who knows ?

I've not visited any specific monument before that was listed simply as a "mound".

I am quite sure though that if you are a fan of mounds, the mound of Down should probably be on your list of must see'.

As mounds go, despite not being an expert I'd imagine it easily makes it into the top ten list.

There are quite a lot of things to see and do in County Down including ;

Drumena Cashel

Saint Patrick's Grave 

An "almost" Séan na Gig.

The Silent Valley

......and the Newry Canal,  Newcastle and the 

Mournes, and a limitless amount of places of further interest.

Keep the wheels 🛞 turning.

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Balrothery Standing Stone, County Dublin

 Balrothery Standing Stone

At Balrothery in north County Dublin lies a Standing Stone in an unusual setting.

It is located in the heart of a housing development.

It is quite a large stone by mass. 

This stone is a remnant from  our Bronze age past and an important local antiquity.

Standing Stones - Monumental Ireland

fingal.ie/Heritage by Area - Balrothery

Keep the wheels turning.

The incisions on the stone are likely Plough marks 

and not as suggested by some Ogham strokes.

Historic Environmental Viewer / RMP Record  DU 005 057002 :

Description: Located on the landscaped open space of Cloich Choirneal housing estate in Balrothery Village. It is four-sided with a distinct E-W axis (H 1.5m; 2, L 1.25m; Wth 0.95m). There are a series of plough marks on the lower portion of its W face (Healy 1975, 17). Archaeological test excavation (01E0255) and monitoring (01E0371) were undertaken in advance of the housing estate development. In 2010 a flower bed was placed around the standing stone obscuring its base. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Date of upload: 15 November 2014 

 

References:  Healy, P. 1975a Second report on monuments and sites of archaeological interest in county Dublin. An Foras Forbartha Teoranta. Healy, P. 1975b Third report on monuments and sites of archaeological interest in county Dublin. An Foras Forbartha, Dublin. 

 

Six-Inch First edition:  

Six-Inch Latest edition: Gallan 

 

ITM Coordinates: 720146 , 761260 

Latitude and Longitude: 53.587427 , -6.185305

The La Tène Stones of Ireland

There are just four of the rare La Tène Iron age decorated stones in the Republic Ireland that I am aware of.

A further fifth stone is located at Ballymoney Museum in the North of Ireland, the Derrykeighan stone.

La Tène is a form of early central European artwork. 

It strikes me as being somewhat similar to the Viking era Scandinavian Urnes styles however I'm no expert.

The La Tène stones in Ireland are comprised of the Castlestrange Stone, the Killycluggin Stone, the Truroe Stone and the Mullaghmast Stone.

The Castlestrange Stone.

The stone has been set among smaller cobbles and is open to visitors with no restrictions on access to view it.

Unfortunately when we visited Truroe in Galway to see the Truroe Stone we soon discovered that it had been taken into the National Museum for cleaning several years previously and that the locals were still wondering when or if it was coming back.

I'm unable to verify its location at present.

Below is a reproduction of the wonderful Killycluggin Stone near where it was initially found.

The original is broken and now housed in Cavan County museum at Ballyjamesduff.

There is also a fantastic and quite wonderful outdoor reproduction of a WWI trench system and the museum is a true hidden gem deserving of a visit.

The absolutely beautiful Mullaghmast stone in the National Museum, Dublin.

It is almost a jet black colour.

Note the marks in the last picture where most likely Swords were drawn against it in Oath Swearing rituals or promises of fealty.

Mullaghmast in County Kildare was the scene of a vicious and deceitful slaughter by British troops who massacred the troublesome  leaders of the"Septs" of Laois after luring them there to Parley.

It was also much later in the 1800's the location chosen for a "monster rally" held by the "liberator", Daniel O'Connell.

Keep the wheels turning.