Thread by @Werner_Hedgehog

So I recently took a walk up by my favourite place, Rathgeran Hill, near Ballymurphy in Co. Carlow which, in addition to being very pretty is archaeologically fascinating. First up is the neolithic Rathgeran Stone...

It's not just the stone that's interesting here though- it's the whole landscape and the intervisibility of other sites and rock art locations.

This is Knockmore Hill as seen from the Rathgeran Stone.

Orange arrow- Megalithic structure (now destroyed)
Purple arrow- Rock art site
Blue arrow- Enclosure and hut sites

Mt. Leinster

Green arrow- possible collapsed passage tomb
Red arrow- two nice examples of rock art

View towards Kiloughternane and Tomduff

Brown arrow- Knockmore enclosure and hut sites
Purple arrow- hillfort
Raspberry arrow- Ring cairn
Black arrow- Rock art discovery site (now in @NMIreland)

There's a lot more to see on the hill itself though, including this nice tree.

Atop the hill there's an enclosure consisting of a bank composed of earth and boulders (CW023-014). It can be seen in this aerial photo. Is it just me or does there appear to be a line running beyond the field boundary? (not visible at ground level)

The enclosure intrigues me because of its proximity to the rock art. Curvilinear enclosures have been known to occur close to rock art like you see with Blaze O'Connor's excavations at Drumirril, Co. Monaghan.

The bank is the low line of scrub and bushes.

The bank appears to have continued in a southwesterly curve, incorporating a couple of giant boulders which look to be glacial erratics (visible in the middle ground, not the one to the fore).

Another intriguing thing is the big collection of rock to the northwest of the enclosure. Interesting to me because:

1. If it's field clearance from the top of the hill, why didn't they remove the rest of the bank?
2. Why does the stone collection fall both sides of the wall?

The way the stones lie almost look like the remains of some kind of structures or, again, is that just my imagination?

In a more modern context are the remains of an old quarry on the side of the hill. Not sure what was quarried (granite probably) but there looks to be some metallic content in the rock... A few old (blasting?) holes in the rock too.

The very definite remains of a small building are located next to the quarry. It looks to be a two-roomed structure.

The little building is visible in the aerial photo too. Any thoughts on what it might be? Equipment shed?

Also on the hill I found this odd black/grey rock unlike anything else around it. Any idea what it could be? Almost looked like basalt.

Rathgeran Hill is really interesting and, IMO, deserves another look by a real archaeologist, not a codger like me. It's close to other rock art and standing stone sites too. #Archaeology

This really blew-up. There's a really great book on the topic that's well worth checking out- Inscribing the Landscape: The Rock Art of South Leinster by Christiaan Corlett. Any proper archaeologists who are intrigued and want to go investigating, gimme a shout.