Site

This souterrain (KE065-078----), marked ‘Cave’ on the OS maps, was discovered in 1838 by workmen building a field boundary across a slight rise in Dunloe Castle demesne, a short distance W of the River Loe. A total of seven ogham stones were incorporated into its structure. Atkinson and Romilly Allen visited it individually several decades later, and recorded that the accessible section of its passage was c. 5.7m in overall length and averaged l.3m in height (1866, 523-4; 1892, 166-70). Access was gained through an opening at S, where the passage was 7 feet (2.15m) wide. From here it curved to NE, decreasing in width to 3 feet 3 inches (1m). The walls were of drystone construction and inclined slightly to reduce the passage width at roof level. It was roofed by nine slabs, six of which bore ogham inscriptions. One of the larger ogham stones had cracked in antiquity and was supported by a seventh, which stood upright in the souterrain passage. A number of bones and skulls, some of which were reputedly human, were found in the souterrain. In 1940 the ogham stones were removed from the site by the OPW, and were erected close to a public roadway nearby. The souterrain was subsequently filled back and no surface trace remains (Extract from ASI database, www.archaeology.ie).

Monument

2.10m x 0.52m x 0.20m (O'Sullivan et al 1996, no. 863 (1)). This stone was 'the outermost lintel' of the souterrain (Macalister 1945, 193). A small, encircled, equal-armed cross occurs on that face of the stone which was uppermost when it served as a lintel in the souterrain (Graves 1886, 605; O'Sullivan et al 1996, no. 863 (1)).

Text

The inscription is well preserved and [up] on the dexter angle. 'Inscribed in short, broad strokes: none of the side-strokes reach the angle... The S at the end of the first word is evidently an omission subsequently rectified' (Macalister 1945, 193), as it is positioned on the face of the stone beside the O, which is closely followed by the M of MAQI.

Found

Along with six other ogham stones in a souterrain known as 'the cave of Dunloe' in the townland of Coolmagort and barony of Dunkerron North (GPS coordinates -9.633466, 52.060741).

Original

Unknown

Last Recorded

In a small modern enclosure (together with CIIC 241 Kilbonane) near the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe, close to where originally found. The present location of this stone may be accessed via the National Monuments Service public map viewer on www.archaeology.ie. (GPS coordinates -9.634923, 52.06042)

Websites and Online Databases

• Gippert, J. (2001): Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text-und Sprachmateriale. TITUS OGAMICA. (3rd edition) University of Frankfurt: titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/ogam/frame
• CISP (Celtic Inscribed Stones Project):www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/

Ogham stones are among Ireland's most remarkable national treasures. These perpendicular cut stones bear inscriptions in the uniquely Irish Ogham alphabet, using a system of notches and horizontal or diagonal lines/scores to represent the sounds of an early form of the Irish language. The stones are inscribed with the names of prominent people and sometimes tribal affiliation or geographical areas. These inscriptions constitute the earliest recorded form of Irish and, as our earliest written records dating back at least as far as the 5th century AD, are a significant resource for historians, as well as linguists and archaeologists.