Wattstown Barrows facts for kids
Dumhaí Bhaile Bhatt
|
|||||||||||
Location | Wattstown, Portloman, County Westmeath, Ireland |
||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coordinates | 53°34′32″N 7°26′08″W / 53.575590°N 7.435572°W | ||||||||||
Type | tumuli | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Material | earth | ||||||||||
Founded | c. 3000–2000 BC | ||||||||||
Site notes | |||||||||||
Ownership | State | ||||||||||
Designation |
|
The Wattstown Barrows are two ancient burial mounds in County Westmeath, Ireland. These special mounds are protected as a National Monument of Ireland. They give us clues about people who lived here thousands of years ago.
Contents
What are the Wattstown Barrows?
The Wattstown Barrows are a type of ancient burial site. They are called tumuli (TOO-moo-lee) or barrows. These are mounds of earth or stones built over graves. People built them a very long time ago, around 3000 to 2000 BC. This was during the Bronze Age, a time when people started using bronze tools.
Where can you find them?
You can find the Wattstown Barrows in County Westmeath, Ireland. They are located near the top of Frewin Hill. This hill is about 173 meters (568 feet) high. From the barrows, you can look out over a beautiful lake called Lough Owel to the east.
What do they look like?
The Wattstown Barrows are made up of different types of mounds. There is a ring barrow and a bowl barrow. These are both kinds of burial mounds. They are connected by a bank and a ditch. This creates a large, curved shape around the bowl barrow. There is also another bowl barrow and a cairn nearby. A cairn is a pile of stones, also often used as a burial marker.
Ancient Stories and Legends
Frewin Hill, where the barrows are located, has an interesting legend. People say it was the site of a big battle. This was the Battle of Frémainn, fought in the year AD 507. In this battle, a leader named Failge Berraide won against another leader, Fiachu mac Néill.