Tobermore

Area

17,391 m² (1.74 ha, 4.3 acres)

Buildings

2 buildings touch it. Their footprint covers 534 m².

Zoning

No zone of a development plan covers it in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply.

Townland

Tobermore

Planning applications on this parcel

No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 4 recorded monuments.

• MA038-004 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  In undulating pasture, located on rise, overlooking lowlying, damp ground fed by a natural spring which is located 40m to S. There is rising ground to N. When inspected in1996, this rath consisted of a raised circular area (30.5m N-S; 28.4m E-W) defined at SW-NW by remnants of earthen bank (Wth 2.7m; int. H 0.35m; ext. H 1.3m), reduced elsewhere to a scarp (H 1.5m at SE). The level interior appears to have been created by scarping the natural rise, and probably also by building up the ground in parts to N where it backs onto rising ground. The bank at NW-N was subsumed into a field fence bordering an E-W road. At the NE a stone-built shed of relatively recent date abutted the scarp. In 2002-3 the northern portion of the rath was excavated (02E0598) in advance of road construction (Zajac 2011, 331-343). The excavation revealed that the bank was carefully constructed with alternate layers of material dug out from the fosse and very cohesive material brought in from the lower ground surrounding the rath, all reinforced with a stone revetment on the inner and external face. It was enclosed by an external U-shaped fosse (Wth top 2.3m, base 0.6m; max. D 2.4m), with an entrance causeway (Wth 5m) across the fosse on the E side of the rath. The occupation levels of the rath were poorly preserved. In the SE sector a large oval fire pit (2m N–S; 1.2m E–W) was found, containing iron slag, fire-reddened stones, and animal bones. It was surrounded by a charcoal-enriched occupation layer, also containing animal bones. The assemblage of artefacts recovered included the shaft of a copper-alloy ringed pin, iron objects, a bone needle, beads of blue glass and white faience, and a spindle whorl. Analysis of the animal bones showed that cattle were the main livestock species, with lesser numbers of sheep and pig. The majority of the cattle were killed between 2-3 years of age, at prime meat-bearing age, but the sheep were killed later in adulthood, indicating that they were raised for wool as well as meat. The range of skeletal elements found indicated that the animals were slaughtered on site. Bones of horse, dog and cat were also recovered, and one complete skeleton of a kitten, which had been buried in a pit. Archaeobotanical samples produced evidence for six-row hulled barley, oat, wheat, and hazelnuts. A pot quern found in the uppermost fill of the fosse suggests that occupation or use of the rath may have continued into at least the later medieval period. In the modern era, an area in the N part of the rath interior was used as a children’s burial ground (MA030-004003-). The excavation also revealed that the rath overlay a Neolithic habitation site (MA030-004001-) with a possible associated enclosure (MA030-004002-). (Zajac 2011). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 July 2019

• MA038-004001 Habitation site
  Description

  Located on a low natural rise or hillock with a southerly aspect, underlying a rath (MA038-004----) and a children's burial ground (MA038-004003-). In 2002-3 an excavation (02E0598) was carried out on the northern half of the rath in advance of road construction. It revealed that prior to the construction of the rath, the hillock was the focus of prehistoric activity (Zajac 2011, 336-8). The evidence included an occupation layer, into which a number of cylindrical pits were cut. One of the pits contained pottery sherds, which yielded a radiocarbon determination of 3510-3350 cal. BC, indicating an early Neolithic date. The sherds were in a fresh condition and came from a single pot, which had been broken in antiquity, prior to deposition in the pit. Approximately a third of the pot was present in the pit. One suggested interpretation is that the pot was placed in the pit as part of a ceremonial or ritualistic offering (ibid. 338). The other pits contained occasional animal bones and small quantities of plant remains, including fragments of hazelnut shells and indeterminate cereal grain fragments. The excavation also produced evidence for an enclosure (MA038-004002-), which predated the construction of the rath. It is though likely to have enclosed the prehistoric habitation site and its pits, but a direct relationship was not established due to the confined extent of the excavation. (Zajac 2011) Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 July 2019

• MA038-004002 Enclosure
  Description

  Located on a low natural rise or hillock with a southerly aspect, underlying a rath (MA038-004----). In 2002-3 an excavation (02E0598) was carried out on the northern half of the rath in advance of road construction (Zajac 2011). It revealed evidence of an enclosure defined by a narrow fosse, which predated the construction of the rath. The fosse (Wth 0.6-1m at top; D 0.4-0.8m) underlay the later rath bank, and was traced in an arc W–NE. It varied in profile from U-shaped to V-shaped, and appeared too shallow and insubstantial to be defensive in nature. It is thought to be pre-historic in date, most likely associated with a Neolithic habitation site (MA038-004001-), which underlay the rath. The enclosed space may even have had a ceremonial or ritual dimension (ibid. 338). Part of the enclosure, extended beyond the road take and remains unexcavated, underlying the S side of the rath. (Zajac 2011). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 July 2019

• MA038-004003 Children's burial ground
  Description

  In a rath (MA038-004----). In 2002-3 the rath was partly excavated (02E0598) in advance of road construction (Zajac 2011). The excavation revealed that a confined area (2m N–S; 4.5m E–W) in the northern sector of the rath interior was used as a children's burial ground. Several graves had crude stone markers at both the head and foot of the grave. The majority of the burials were poorly preserved, the bones disturbed and co-mingled, but five oval-shaped grave-cuts, oriented roughly E–W, contained intact skeletons. A minimum of 34 but possibly as many as 60 individuals were interred here, aged between 29 weeks in utero and six months. There was a single burial of an adolescent/adult. Shroud pins, as well as nails and fragments of pine wood, probably from coffins, were recovered. The burials were dated to the late 19th-century, based on the evidence of the shroud pins and on radiocarbon determinations. The burial ground was fully excavated, and following post- excavation analysis, the bones were reinterred in Crossmolina graveyard. (Zajac 2011). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 23 July 2019

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Ground and risks

Radon

At the centre of this parcel, about 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of this parcel.

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

Download this parcel as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program. GeoJSON, in WGS 84, suits a map, and KML opens in Google Earth.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.