Depressions on a Royal Landscape – The Pitfields of Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon
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Transcript of Depressions on a Royal Landscape – The Pitfields of Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon
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Depressions on a Royal Landscape – The Pitfields of Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon
The average visitor to the Rathcroghan Complex may come to experience an ancient royal
site of Ireland but leave with a deeper understanding of the interwoven physical and mythical
landscape which spans from the Bronze Age to the Post-Medieval period. Like many Royal
sites one can trace significant periods of domestic and social activity through the unique
archaeological landscape. Rathcroghan offers the opportunity to engage not only with the
physical past of ancient Royal Ireland but also the mythical past. Cruachan is one of
Ireland’s ancient cemeteries, the starting point for An Táin Bó Cuailnge (Ireland’s Iliad) and
home to The Morrigan, a triple goddess of battle, strife and fertility, who resides in
Oweynagat, which is where an enticing ogham inscription referencing two mythical names
from the Ulster Cycle, Freach and Medb, can also be found.
As I child I visited my grandparents, who lived beside Oweynagat, and ever since the sense
of place has stuck with me. After a decade living in Galway city I returned to Rathcroghan as
the Education Development Officer for Curachan Aí Heritage Centre, Tulsk. Since my return
there is one question I have been recurringly asked at the end of a tour of the exhibition
rooms:
“What are those rectangular depressions in the aerial photos of Rathcroghan?”
Description of Features
Dotted across the greater Rathcroghan area, and beyond, are several series of aligned pits.
The extents of these pits are best seen from the air. As a general rule they are orientated
N/NW, but also run N/NE, sometimes in the same group (fig. 1). These features have been
classified by Michael Moore of the National Monuments Service (NMS) as Pitfields, and
defined as “shallow oblong pits c.10m x c. 2-3m, with a depth of c. 0.5m, arranged in parallel
rows placed c. 20-40m apart.” A few of these pits sometimes retain water, which may
suggest a poorly drained area or an area where the water table intersects with the land
surface; however, not all pits in a single group retain water (fig. 2).
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Fig. 1 - Aerial View South of Rathcroghan Mound - Gerry Bracken
Fig. 2 - View of Mucklaghs in winter, showing some water filled pits. - Gerry Bracken
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According to the constantly updated archaeology.ie website ‘pitfields’ only appear in Co.
Roscommon and the majority occur within the wider Rathcroghan area. Moore suggested
that pitfields do not occur outside an area bounded by Castlerea, Bellanagare, Tulsk and
Roscommon town. Martin A. Timoney (2009) has also noted sites outside of this boundary,
expanding the area to isolated locations at Derrynaskea, Co. Longford, and Garranlahan in
Co. Roscommon, and those noted by Tom Condit at Lisserdrea just southwest of Boyle, Co.
Roscommon. The clafficfaction of ‘pitfield’ requires a series of pits, usually a minimum of
three. Timoney’s sites in Derrynaskea and Garranlahan are excluded on these grounds as
there are only two pits visible. It is highly possible however, that other pits in these areas do
not appear on the available aerial photographs. There are twenty-six sites classed as Pitfield
by the NMS which are all located within Roscommon. When one examines SMR sites
designated ‘redundant’ by the NMS there are a further 12 possible sites in the Roscommon
Area, some of which have been identified as swallow holes, while others are noted as not
visible at ground level.
By associating these sites with Rathcroghan one may be tempted to assume that they have an
Iron Age date. This article does not make such claims, and evidence is provided to highlight
otherwise. This said there is no denying that these features appear to centre upon the wider
Rathcroghan complex, as the majority of pitfields occur in townlands associated with this
enigmatic landscape.
Suggestions for Origins of Features
Natural Features
In 1997 Joe Fenwick (Department of Archaeology, NUI Galway) and Mathew Parkes
(Natural History Division, NMI) published an article on Oweynagat Cave in
Glenballythomas, Co. Roscommon, which highlighted the karst features of the region. They
noted a number of ‘curious features in the Rathcroghan area which may reflect the structure
and nature of the underlying geology (Fenwick and Parkes, 1997).
Despite an apparent regular alignment pattern and a suggestion that these depressions are in
some way connected with the unique cultural landscape, an explanation more plausible for
the features as ‘a reflection [of] the underlying karstic landscape of linier rifts’ was proposed
(Fenwick & Parkes, 1997). It was noted that the features ‘display a mutually consistent
orientation and in some instances occur roughly at right angles to each other.’ From this
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observation the writers suggested a relationship to joints in the limestone as the most likely
explanation. Fenwick and Parkes noted further fieldwork is needed to support this theory as
there is insufficient exposed sections of limestone to confirm or deny the theory. Work
carried by Kevin Cormican during the ArchaeoGeophysical Imaging Project (N.U.I. Galway
1995) on a sample of ten pits and a number of exposed geological joints in the area showed
that there are two broad trends for the orientation of the pits at varying degrees of N/NW
(60%) and N/NE (40%). Cormican’s survey reveals a similar percentage for the natural
joints in the region (fig. 3). The limited sample survey showed that there is a possible
correlation between pits and the underlying geology. As this survey was limited to a small
geographical area, and the opportunity to record the underlying karst landscape was limited to
exposed sites. Kevin Cormican examined aerial photos of the region showing possible
glacial features (fig. 4). His analysis of these images identified the ridges as natural glacial
eskers. These features as well as other glacial features have been mapped by Catherine
Delaney of Manchester Metropolitan University. Delaney records the pitfields as
‘rectangular, steep-sided bedrock depressions’ which are present on the surface of the
streamlined hills in the region. She suggests that the likeliest explanation is that the
depressions were created by the ‘plucking of bedrock by overriding ice’ (Delaney, 2009) and
dates them to ice age. Delaney’s report states that initial work was undertaken using aerial
photos taken for the Ordnance Survey in 1973 followed by two days of field-mapping. It is
unclear which pitfields were visited and what other aerial photographic material was at her
disposal. Subsequent work to the OS aerial photos, which would have been available, has
reviled a number of pits on or linear to field boundaries and roads which post-date the Iron
Age activity of Rathcrogahn. The discovery of pits within this context defuses any
suggestion of glacial formations.
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Fig. 3 - Directional trend of Pits (a) and natural Joints (b) in Rathcrogahn Area, Image by Kevin
Cormican.
Fig. 4 - Aerial photo showing eskers to the s/E of Rathcroghan Mound. Photos Gerry Bracken, repoduced
from Cruachan Aí exhibition
Man Made Features
Michael Moore has suggested that these features are man-made and not natural features
proposing a possible ‘post-medieval date, from the 17th
century AD onwards. Moore notes
that “in the same area they will often run in two different directions” (Moore, pers. comm.).
When questioned on a possible origin of these features he made the suggestion that these pits
may represent
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an attempt to mix subsoil with the topsoil. If you think about it, this answers a lot of the
difficulties they present. Whatever came out of them was taken away or spread as there
is never a spoil mound at them. The pits are of a fairly uniform size and shape and set
equally distant apart. This would result if people were spreading the contents over the
ground by shovel.
This suggestion was offered with the caveat that it is not known if this is a regular
agricultural practice and that it may have occurred on a single landlord’s property. The
subsoil is mineral rich and may become beneficial to the fertility when mixed with topsoil
from time to time.
Martin A. Timoney published an interesting article on these features in the Co. Roscommon
Historical and Archaeological Society Journal, Vol. 11, in 2009. His first introduction, like
that of many others, to the features, was in 1972 through photographs taken by Gerry
Bracken, a respected amateur archaeologist / pilot with an interest in aerial photography. It
would seem that until Bracken has photographed the area there was little archaeological
awareness of these sites. The features can be hard to see as their visibility depends on light
direction and grass growth.
Timoney (2009) estimated the count to be 1,500 to 2,000 pits from field walking and aerial
photography available. This figure is a refinement of the 2,500 he suggested in 1990. While
there are many pits visible from aerial photography, there is evidence that many more may
have been filled in over the years. During extensive work by John Waddell, Joe Fenwick and
Kevin Barton in the Rathcroghan area it was reported via a local landowner that ‘some field
banks were levelled and that a number of hollows or pits were filled’ between the 1980s and
1990s (Waddell, Fenwick & Barton, 2009).
Timoney includes pits recorded by the Sites and Monuments Record Team in the late 1990s.
Tom Condit discovered some pits to the south-west of Boyle at this time, which has been
retraced to Lisserdrea townland. Timoney suggested that the twenty or so features are
‘somewhat different in that they are arranged in ‘angled pairs’ rather than straight lines’
(Timoney, 2009, p. 139.). He also includes a pits listed in The Recorded Monuments and
Places manual at Barrinagh to the south of Garranlahan which do not now appear on the
updated archaeology.ie. Upon inspection of this website, this feature has been classified as
redundant noting ‘on an undulating landscape. Said to have been covered in pits with no
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upcast by an informant, but the location was not certain’. The notes in the file for SMR,
RO032-010 state there is no evidence of pits at this location. While visiting the area recently
I saw two such pits at the suggested location. Timoney also includes, ‘hesitantly’ as he has
not seen them on the ground, two pits on a bog island in Derrynaskea, Co. Longford, which
he saw from the air while returning to Abbeyshrule (fig. 5).
Fig. 5 - possible pits on bog island in Derrynaskea, N. of Corlea, Co. Longford. Photos Martin A, Timoney
Possible Dating
The initial suggestion that these sites may be natural is countered by evidence drawing from
context of surrounding monuments and features. Moore has already proposed a post-
medieval date for the features while Timoney (2009) is more careful in his dating. In his
research Timoney (2009) highlights the context in which some of the pits are to be found.
There are a number of instance where the depressions cross archaeological monument and as
such post-date those sites (fig. 6). There are also instances where fieldbanks cross the
features and so the pits pre-date these. Herity (1984) has stated that these banks may be as
early as the 12th
or 16th
centuries but Timoney (2009) dates some to 18th
or 19th
century land
enclosures. While it may not be possible to date the features exactly there is evidence in
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Timoney’s aerial photos to suggest that sites are on man-made and natural features; this rules
out any theory of natural origins.
Fig. 6 - Pitfields N. of N5 at Toberrory T.L N/E of Rathcroghan. Pits shown on glacial ridge top centre
and with field bounday centre. Photos Martin A. Timoney
Possible Purpose
As with the dating of these sites, it may never be possible to uncover the purpose for, or
method, which they were created. There are many local suggestions such as a source for clay
or rocks, the collection of water, storing potatoes, drainage, flax pits, damaging fields owned
by a landlord, military activities and producing lime (Timoney, 1990). Another suggestion
passed on by Timoney from Leo Leydon, a Sligo fieldwalker who had a close association
with Rathcroghan some years ago, is that soil was removed and offered in a ritual manner as
material for the construction of some of the major archaeological monuments.
Suggestions from visitors to Cruachan Aí range from the practical to the bizarre. It has been
suggested that these pits may be the archaeological remains of temporary camps or huts,
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created by the removal of soil and placing of a wooden or shrub mats to create a floor to
prevent dampness. A suggestion was also made that these sites may have been traps, and a
means of defence. While the musing of possible uses for these pits always provides for an
interesting conversation with visitors to the centre their suggestions are made without
context.
Fig. 7 - Pitfields N. towards Rathcroghan from Glenballythomas T.L. Photos Martin A, Timoney
Possible Future Work
The significance of these enigmatic pits may never be fully understood without detailed
mapping, geophysics, excavation and soil testing and while there is merit in studying the
geological landscape, it should also be remembered that Rathcroghan is a spiritual landscape
with many archaeological features covering a substantial time period from the Neolithic to
Medieval. Timoney (2009) notes the ideology of Prof. Peter Woodman; ‘that we do not
know everything, or even near it, and we should keep the material that we do not understand,
perhaps even more so than we can understand’. While there has been intermittent interest in
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these sites over the years, they have not been extensively studied within the Rathcroghan
area.
In order to gain a greater understanding of these sites an archaeological mapping of all known
and suspected pitfields with a follow-up detailed investigation of a number of pitfields should
be conducted. The area north and south of Rathcroghan provides ample opportunity to
examine these features both via non-invasive and excavation methods
While writing this article I tried in vain to find detailed aerial photography online, which
showed these pits clearly until on afternoon I was checking my location using my mobile
phone. Google Earth has a detailed aerial plan for the Rathcroghan area, which highlights
many of the Pitfields clearly, so that they can be mapped and checked at ground level. Using
a program called GPS Essentials designed for the Android phone I mapped a series of
waypoints highlighting areas of definite and possible sites which can be mapped in detail at a
later date using more precise GPS equipment. A prime example of a pitfield can be located
on Google Earth in the townland of Glenballythomas N53 47.403, W008 18.311.
An opportunity to discuss these sites and the wider Rathcroghan archaeological landscape
will be provided at the Rathcroghan Conference April 13th
- 15th 2012 at Cruachan Aí
Heritage Centre, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. These unique rectangular features will be
discussed, among other things, during this conference with the intention of unravelling the
enigmatic nature of the local archaeology by viewing advances in technologies and various
interpretations of the landscape.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Martin A. Timoney for permission to reproduce some of his aerial photos and
for commenting on several versions of this article, Joe Fenwick, John Waddell and Kevin
Barton for their support and work for the Cruachan Aí Centre and Michael Moore of the
National Monument Service and Kevin Cormican who provided data for this article.
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Blurb: Gary Dempsey is the Education Development Officer at Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre
Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, and organiser and contact for the Rathcroghan Conference 2012. He
is a graduate of M.A Irish Studies at NUI Galway and B.A Heritage Studies G.M.I.T Galway.
Details of conference http://www.rathcroghan.ie/festivals-and-conferences-in-roscommon/
Bibliography
Timoney, Martin, “Sub-Rectangualr Pits and Pitfields in Central North Roscommon” in Co.
Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society Journal, Vol. 11, 2009, pp. 139-143.
Fenwick, Joe, and Parkes, Mathew, “Oweynagat, Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon and
associated karst features” in Irish Speleology The Journal of Irish Caving, Journal of the
Speleological Union of Ireland, No. 16, 1997, pp. 11-16.
Waddell, John, Fenwick, Joe, and Barton, Kevin, Rathcroghan Archaeological and
Geophysical Survey in a Ritual Landscape, (Wordwell, 2009).