Kilcashel Stone Fort is a double

court cairn The court cairn or court tomb is a megalithic type of chambered cairn or gallery grave. During the period, 3900–3500 BCE, more than 390 court cairns were built in Ireland and over 100 in southwest Scotland. The Neolithic (New Stone Age ...

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 in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, 800m (½ mile) southeast of

Kilmovee Kilmovee () is a village and civil parish in County Mayo, Ireland. It is a mainly rural parish on the R325 road, midway between Kilkelly and Ballaghaderreen. In March 2004, the Cois Tine Heritage Centre was opened and since then it has become ...

. The last surviving member of three stone forts in the area, it's estimated to have been constructed between 2,500 and 500BC.

Description

Kilcashel Stone Fort is in diameter; the stone wall is thick and in height. A

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") 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 northw ...

is located inside, as well as a

bullaun A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is high ...

and the sites of two collapsed houses.

References

{{Reflist National monuments in County Mayo Archaeological sites in County Mayo