Drumlohan souterrain and ogham stones, known locally as the Ogham Cave, is a

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ', meaning "subterrain", is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul d ...

with

ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

stones forming a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Location

Drumlohan souterrain and ogham stones are located in farmland 4 km (2½ mi) east of Lemybrien.

History

The ten ogham stones were carved between 400 and 700 AD. The souterrain is believed to have been constructed around the 9th century AD and is aligned WSW, facing the setting sun. Souterrains were storage sites and places of refuge. In July/August 1867 a local farmer rediscovered the souterrain and ogham stones. In 1936 part of the souterrain was dismantled and some of the ogham stones re-erected above ground.

Description

Souterrain

This souterrain gallery is about 4.9 m (16 ft) long and 1.3 m (4 ft) wide, with a roof height of up to 1.2 m (4 ft). It is constructed of

orthostat This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

s roofed with

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

s, and ten

stones were used as lintels and sidestones (some of them being installed upside-down). One of the roofstones bears

cup marks Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain ( Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Al ...

Ogham stones

The stones (CIIC 272–281) vary in size. All are

greenschist Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as Chlorite ...

, except for two of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

and one of conglomerate. The inscriptions are: *MANU MAGUNO GATI MOCOI MACORBO (of Manu the boy of Gáeth, of the tribe of Macorbo) — perhaps the Dál Maic-Cuirp, one of the

Déisi Muman The ''Déisi'' were a social class in Ireland between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading ''déis'' shared a similar status in Gaelic Ireland, and had little or no actual kinship, though they were ...

*CALUNOVIC MAQI MUCOI LIT N�� (of Culann, son of the tribe of Litenos) *MAQI-INI ̣ ̣ ? ̣ ̣ MAQI(?) QE(?)]TTEAS (of Maqinni, son of Qetteas) *CUNALEGEA MAQI C ... ALAR CELI AVI QVECI (of Conlaoi son of C ... salar, follower of the grandson of Cuach) *BIGU MAQI LAG ... (of Bigu, son of Lag ... ) *BIR MAQI MUCOI ROTTAIS (of Bir, son of the tribe of Rottis) — referring to the Rothrige, a subject tribe of the Déisí * ... MAQI NE ACUNS ( ... son of Netacunas). The name Netacunas means "Hound's champion." *DENAVEC MUOI MEDALO (of Denaveca of the tribe of Medalo) — maybe the Dál Mo Dala *BRO

NION Nion (ᚅ) is the Irish name of the fifth letter ( Irish "letter": sing.''fid'', pl.''feda'') of the Ogham alphabet, with phonetic value The Old Irish letter name, Nin, may derive from Old Irish homonyms ''nin/ninach'' meaning "fork/forked" ...

S (of Broinionas) *DEAGOS MAQI MUCO

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, about from Portlaoise and from Dublin. It is a townland, a civil parish, and historic barony. It is known for its annu ...

is Toberkillea with two Ogham Stones, nearby is Island Ringfort which has a Bullaun and a fallen Ogham Stone, north east of Dungarvan is Garranmillon with two Ogham Stones, north west of Dungarvan is St. Seskinan's church at Knockboy with multiple Ogham Stones and Kilcomeragh near Lemybrien with one Ogham Stone.

References

External links

*{{Youtube, cNI92TG7lrM National monuments in County Waterford Ogham inscriptions 5th-century inscriptions 6th-century inscriptions