Fieldstown - Cairn |
The description and the photo of this site in the Louth Archaeological Survey looks amazing, but what you find when you get here is quite different. The photo shows two exposed cists in the cairn, one of which has its wall slabs slightly exposed. You can't see these today, though, as the top of the monument is covered in brambles and gorse bushes.
It is disgraceful that a monument such as this has been allowed to become so overgrown. I really feel that this should become a National Monument and come under state care. It is so unusual to find such a monument that people should be able to see it properly.
The cairn occupies the highest point on a low ridge. In the field below it there is a second cairn (see sub-site). The east edge of the cairn is interupted by a hedgerow.
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This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |