Ring Barrow on the Great Heath

Moving on with my recent trip around county Laois, I was driving through the Great Heath when I spotted something interesting. Yes right on the roadside was this fantastic Ring Barrow. For anyone whom does not know a barrow is basically an ancient Neolithic burial site which was covered by a mound of earth. There were a number of different styles such as ring, bowl, long and bell barrows. The most common type I know of is the ring type which is made by digging a circular trench or fosse around a central burial.

It would seem that there are quite a number of these ancient burial sites scattered around the Heath, similar to the Curragh in Kildare. This time i did not take the time to explore further to find these, but hopefully later in the year I can return and find some more. The Heath itself is a National Heritage area and along with possibly thirteen other such Barrows there is supposed to be a number of Iron Age Rath’s nearby. These lands were once part of the ancient territory of Ui Criomhchainn and made up a part of the great plain of Magh Roicheat or Morette. Nearby you can find the remains of Morett Castle which was once one of the many Geraldine Castles belonging to the Earls of Kildare.

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