Knockroe Passage Tomb Survey
Principal Investigators
Dr Muiris O'Sullivan
Dr Blaze O'Connor
Funding
Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG)
Previous work funded by the OPW and RIA.
Abstract
A long-term research project on the Neolithic passage tomb at
Knockroe (known locally as ‘The Caiseal’) is being conducted at the UCD
School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. The research is led
by Dr Muiris O’Sullivan (Head of UCD School of Archaeology), and the
present phase of work is funded by the Department of the Environment
Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG). This phase follows up previous
excavation work (funded by the OPW and RIA) by initiating a broader
landscape study via a geophysical survey of the fields surrounding the
monument, alongside a digital survey of the monument itself organised
by staff from the DEHLG. The Knockroe geophysical study will inform the
publication of the full excavation report in the first place and then
act as a catalyst for a broader archaeological landscape survey of the
Lingaun Valley.
Knockroe passage tomb (RMP KK34:1901) is located between the towns of Callan and Carrick-on-Suir in the southwest of County Kilkenny, and lies a short distance from the Kilkenny, Leinster and Ossory borders. The site is situated between 100-110m elevation contours and overlooks the Lingaun River 100m to the west. The passage tomb is well known for its extensive assemblage of megalithic art, with many of these panels identified during excavation work by Dr O’Sullivan in the early 1990’s. Though this work focused primarily on the monument itself, it also revealed features outside the kerb, with three ashy spreads identified on the platform close to the eastern tomb. This confirms that the area beyond the tomb’s kerb indeed represents an area of potential for the identification of further archaeological activity.
Survey results are currently undergoing analysis for publication, and have identified an area of potential archaeological activity adjacent to the tomb, along the same slate ridgeline on which the monument was constructed.
