Rathcroghan () is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It has been identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early medieval rulers of the kingdom of Connacht. Rathcroghan is one of the royal sites of Ireland. The ritual landscape extends over and consists of over 240 archaeological sites, 60 of which are protected national monuments. According to National Geographic, the site may be "Europe's largest unexcavated royal complex".
The sites range in time period of construction from the Neolithic (4000–2500 BC), the Bronze (2500–500 BC) and Iron Ages (500 BC – 400 AD), to the medieval period. These monuments include burial mounds, ringforts and medieval field boundaries, the most prominent sites being the multi-period Rathcroghan Mound, the Oweynagat cave, the Mucklaghs (a set of linear earthworks), and the Carnfree medieval complex.
There are many historic references to Rathcroghan (Ráth Crúachan) recorded in early medieval manuscripts, including the 12th-century . Rathcroghan is recorded as the location of one of the great fairs of Ireland, as well as being one of the island's three great pagan cemeteries. It is also the location for the beginning and end of the and the royal seat of Medb, a mythical queen of Connacht.
Rathcroghan is said, in Irish mythology, to be an entrance to the Otherworld, or one of "Ireland's Gates to Hell" (not to be confused with St Patrick's Purgatory), via Oweynagat (the Cave of the Cats). The cave has associations with the festival of Samhain and is also described as the dwelling of the Morrígan, a mythical figure in early medieval Irish literature.
Features
The Rathcroghan complex has over 240 archaeological sites – 60 of which are classed as national monuments – scattered over approximately . They range in date from the Neolithic to the medieval period, and the monument categories include burial mounds, ringforts, linear earthworks and enclosures.
Rathcroghan mound The focal point of the complex, Rathcroghan mound is a broad, flat-topped circular mound with an average diameter of at the base and a height of . Gently sloping ramps to the east and west give access to the summit on which there are traces of a small mound. Surveying has revealed that Rathcroghan mound was built on top of an existing monument that was made of two concentric stone built ring banks. A large enclosure measuring in diameter and in depth was also discovered during surveying. This enclosure surrounds the great mound and various other monuments, beckoning comparisons with other royal sites in Ireland such as Tara, Emain Macha and Dún Ailinne, which have similar enclosures.
Rathmore Rathmore (from Irish Ráth Mór meaning "great fort"). It is convex in shape with a diameter of and surrounded by a wide ditch. This grass-covered, steep-sided mound is suggested to date from the late phase in the Iron Age into the early medieval period. Although it is similar to a ringfort, the apex of the mound is considered too small. Potential post holes found at the top of the mound may suggest that this was the site of an Iron Age communal hall or similar circular structure. Geophysical surveys indicate evidence of hearths, pits and ovens on the interior which accords with the use of the mound for habitation.
Rathnadarve Rathnadarve (from Irish Ráth na dTarbh, 'fort of the bulls').Meehan, p. 584. West of Rathcroghan mound is a large circular ring fort with a considerable bank and external ditch. There are several breaks in the bank, one at the north east being a possible entrance. This is traditionally the site of the fight between the bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbennach at the end of the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge.
Relignaree
Relignaree (from Irish Reilig na Rí, 'burial place (or graveyard) of the kings').Meehan, p. 587. This is a large circular enclosure with a diameter of and a stone and earth bank of high. In the interior of the enclosure there are traces of a smaller circular enclosure, with a diameter of . Ancient field boundary banks run across this site, seeming to divide it into four unequal segments, and the remains of five rectangular houses are visible in and around the site. In 1872 the remains of a souterrain in the south-west quadrant were excavated and animal bones were found.
Oweynagat
The Irish name for this site is Uaimh na gCat which translates as 'Cave of the Cats'.Meehan, p. 585. This is a natural narrow limestone cave with a man-made souterrain at the entrance. Originally the entrance to the souterrain was contained within an earthen mound, which was disturbed by the construction of a road in the 1930s. The souterrain is constructed of drystone walling, orthostats and lintels (with Ogham inscriptions), and measures a total of approximately from the entrance to the natural cave. The natural cave extends for a further . There is an ogham inscription on the overhead lintel just inside the entrance to the souterrain which reads 'VRAICCI...MAQI MEDVVI', translated to 'of Fraech, son of Medb'. Fraech, in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, is associated with Cruachan and Medb and with the nearby monument of Carnfee (Carn Fraích). A second ogham inscription appears on another lintel inside the passageway, barely visible, which reads 'QR G SMU'; archaeologists report that this inscription is too incomplete to enable a confident reading.
Dathí's Mound
This mound was supposed to be the burial place of Dathí, the last pagan High King of Ireland. It appears to be an embanked burial mound with an overall diameter of , with opposed entrances on the east and west. There is a pillar stone of red sandstone atop the mound, the stone standing high. Macalister's investigations in 1913 revealed that the mound was carved out of a natural gravel ridge, and furthermore, limited excavation in 1981 confirmed this. No graves were found at this excavation, although charcoal samples retrieved suggest a building date of between 200 BC – 200 AD. This date conflicts with the legend of this being Dathí's final resting place, as he was supposed to have died around 429 AD, at least 200 years later than the creation of this site.
The Mucklaghs
Folklore tells us that these huge earthworks are the results of the rooting of a giant boar, with muic being the Irish word for pig. They are two linear earthworks which consist of double banks with three accompanying ditches which run north-east and south-west in a curving parallel course at a distance of apart. The Northern Mucklagh is the shorter of the two, measuring , but is impressively massive in its construction. The Southern Mucklagh is significantly longer, measuring approximately . The function of these earthworks is unclear.
Rathbeg
Rathbeg, "small fort", has been categorised as a ring barrow with three concentric rings that encircle the barrow in a tiered effect. The mound is located north west of Rathcroghan mound. It has a double ditch on three sides of the monument and an extra ditch on the western side. There is a small cairn at the summit surrounded by small banks and ditches, which creates the terracing. The mound is approximately in diameter. Worked flint discovered on the mound dates from the Iron Age and possibly the Bronze Age, however the structure itself would be consistent with Neolithic monuments.
Cashelmannan Cashelmannan comes from Irish , which means 'Manannán's fort', referring to a deity from Irish mythology, Manannán mac Lir. These are the foundation remains of a trivallate oval stone fort, with three closely spaced concentric banks of earth and stone measuring an average of in width each. The internal diameter measures with the external measurements being north/south and east/west. Attached to the main enclosure on the north and east sides are two rectangular enclosures, each defined by a singular bank. The exact use of Cashelmanannan is unknown, as excavation has not taken place, but the fact that it is the only structure in the complex built of stone suggests a high-status building with good defensive features.
Other sites Misguan Medb – A fallen standing stone located near Rathcroghan Mound. Ancient Avenue – A sunken avenue or trackway surrounded by two low, parallel banks.De Breffny, pg. 202 Part of it intersects with the outer circular bank and ditch of Rathscreig, a site with a small mound at the center. The avenue which is roughly wide seems to end at Flanagan's Fort, another ringfort with a small mound at the center. Both these forts were built at a later date than the avenue.
Mythology
Origin According to a Dindshenchas poem, Cruachan was named after Crochen, the handmaid of Étaín, a sídhe maiden reborn as a mortal. When Étaín is brought back to the Otherworld by her original sídhe lover Midir, Crochen accompanies them and on their way to Midir's underground palace they spend some time in a mound known as Síd Sinche.
Crochen is so impressed by this síd (fairy mound) that she asks Midir if this is his palace. Because of her loyalty to Étaín and her respect to this dwelling, Midir gives it to her and names it in her honour before bringing Étaín to his palace at Bri Leith. At the end of the poem Crochen is mentioned as the mother of Medb.
The same poem mentions Cruachan as a royal cemetery: "Listen, ye warriors about Cruachu! With its barrow for every noble couple".
Ulster Cycle Cruachan features heavily in the Ulster Cycle as it was the home of one of its chief characters Queen Medb. She had been given the kingdom of Connacht by her High-King father Eochaid Feidlech who had de-throned the previous king Tindi Mac Conra over an act of treachery. It is unclear if Tindi had actually ruled the province from Cruachan or if had been built Medb.
Another story states that Cruachan had been ruled by the queen's sister, Clothru, before Medb herself had her killed. Vivid descriptions of the Western capital are given in Fled Bricrenn ("Bricriu's Feast"), and this one in Táin Bó Fraích: "Of pine the house was made; it is a covering of shingle it had externally. There were sixteen windows in the house, and a frame of brass, to each of them; a tie of brass across the roof-light. Four beams of brass on the apartment of Ailill and Medb, adorned all with bronze, and it in the exact centre of the house. Two rails of silver around it under gilding. In the front a wand of silver that reached the middle rafters of the house. The house was encircled all round from the door to the other."
Cruachan features at the start and end of the Táin Bó Cúailgne with the pillow talk in the royal residence, and concluding with the fight of the bulls, supposed to have taken place at Rath na dTarbh, one of the largest ring-forts on the site. Aside from the Ulster tales there are not many mythical descriptions of Connacht's main fort with one of the best examples occurring in a Dindshenchas poem on Carn Fráich. This poem deals with two figures of this name, one being the Fráech of Medb's time and one who was a Connacht prince preceding Irelands division into Conn's and Eoghan's half, with this section of the poem describing Cruachan as a stone-built fortress.
Samhain