Rathcoran is a passage grave and hillfort and

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 spec ...

located atop Baltinglass Hill,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, Ireland.

Location

Rathcoran is located atop Baltinglass Hill, east-northeast of

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road. Etymology The town's Irish name, ''Bea ...

, overlooking the River Slaney.

History

The passage grave is thought to be contemporaneous with Newgrange, i.e. it was built 3500–3000 BC, during the Neolithic. The site was excavated in 1934–36 by

P. T. Walshe P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina'' * Paris Herbarium, at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' * ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs. * The ''Pacific Repo ...

, revealing evidence of the

cremations Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...

of at least 3 adults and a child. Fragments of quartz unearthed during the excavation suggest that it was used for decoration. Carbonised hazelnuts, wheat grains and a

saddle quern Quern-stones are stone tools for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...

point to the extent of local climate change: in Neolithic Ireland, the climate was drier and warmer, County Wicklow's glens were densely wooded, and farmers could grow crops at altitudes above . Five hillforts surround Baltinglass. Rathcoran, atop Baltinglass Hill is dated to 1000 BC or slightly earlier: during the Bronze Age. The name is from the Irish ''Ráth Cuaráin'' ("Cuarán's

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

"), but this name is doubtful: the original name could be ''Ráth Charnáin'', "ringfort of the

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

Description

Passage grave

The passage tomb survives as a multi-period kerbed

with a diameter of , underneath which are five structures: *A kerb of large stones surround the cairn, and an inner kerb was revealed during excavation. Two stones of the inner kerb and one of the outer bear passage tomb art. *The main tomb is on the north side. It has a short passage, long, roofed with slabs and leading to a chamber in diameter which contains three shallow recesses and a stone basin with pecked ornament. *On the south side of the cairn is another tomb comprising a chamber divided into three compartments, but no passage, and two of its stones bear passage tomb art. *On the northwest side of the cairn are the remains of a small

corbelled In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

structure, partly overlain by the inner kerb. *A fifth chamber stands inside the kerb to the east of the main tomb. The finds from the site include the cremated bones of at least three adults and one child, flint scrapers,

Carrowkeel pottery Carrowkeel may refer to the following places in Ireland: * Carrowkeel, County Galway, townland * Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, County Sligo * Kerrykeel Kerrykeel (; historically and in census returns Carrowkeel) is a small village in County Don ...

and

bone pins A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and e ...

. Finds from beneath the cairn included a

stone axe A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...

, a flint

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

-head, scrapers, an egg-shaped stone, carbonised wheat grains and hazelnuts. A saddle quern was also found in the cairn.

Hillfort

The Rathcoran hillfort, a bivallate

, is at the top of Baltinglass Hill, and surrounds the cairn. Stones from the cairn were moved to make a protective wall. It has a double rampart and perhaps was intended to have a third, which is incompleted. It encloses a roughly oval shape, around at its widest point.

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Wicklow Archaeological sites in County Wicklow Megalithic monuments in Ireland Tombs in the Republic of Ireland