The A-Maze-ing Hollywood Stone

© JRSAI

Full title: The Holywood Stone and the Labyrinth of Knossos

Creator / Author: Goddard H. Orpen (1852-1932)

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 13pp

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, Volume 13, Number 2, pp. 177-189

When Published: December 1923

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: The Hollywood Stone is a large decorated stone which was found in 1908 face downwards close to the Pilgrim’s Road which leads to Glendalough. The author, having originally assumed that the decoration represented a cross, now proposes that the design really is of a type of maze or labyrinth that is associated with that of the Minotaur at Knossos in Crete. This article looks at the history of this pattern, also known as the ‘Game of Troy’, and compares the Hollyood example with others from abroad.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes several photographs and illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

History Under Water

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Full title: Two Ringforts Submerged by the Poulaphuca Reservoir

Creator / Author: R. A. S. Macalister

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 5pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 13 Number 4 pp. 145-149

When Published: December 1943

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: This is a short report on two ringforts before they were due to be submerged by the creation of the Poulaphouca Reservoir. One was in Balyknockan and the other in the townland of Burgage More. The author, a professor of Archaeology in UCD, concluded that no serious loss would be incurred by them being underwater.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes plans of both ringforts

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

A Listing of Local Placenames

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Full title: Local Place Names in West Wicklow

Creator / Author: Michael O’Connor, John Lennon and Thomas McDonnell

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 2pp

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 8, Number 1, pp. 159-160

When Published: June 1938

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: This is a listing of over 40 placenames and field names local to the townlands of Kilbeg, Ballinastockan and Lacken. The list was submitted by Lacken schoolteacher, Michael O’Connor from information supplied by John Lennon of Kilbeg and Thomas McDonnell of Ballinastockan.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #2: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #3: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Brief Account of Two Bullaun Stones

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Full title: Two Bullaun Stones in Kilbeg Townland, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: David McGuinness and Markus Redmond

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 3pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 125 pp. 129-131

When Published: December 1995

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: This is a short article from the Miscellanea section of the journal. Bullaun Stones are blocks of uncut natural stones into which oval or circular basin shapes have been carved out. This pair of stones came to the attention of the authors by their appearance on a then recently-issued ordnance survey map and they do not seem to have been recorded in detail before. They, and 2-3 others in the neighbourhood are thought to have been associated with Templeboden and St. Boden’s Well.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes illustration of the stones.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Buried in the Rath Field

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Full title: Cist Burial at Ballyknockan, Parish of Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: P.T. Walshe

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 2pp + photos

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 4 Number 2 pp. 259-260

When Published: December 1934

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: In 1934 the author of this article was made aware of a large stone on a lane on the lands of Charles Reilly of Ballyknockan in the parish of Kiltegan. The lane had been constructed some 50 years earlier by Mr. Reilly’s uncle and some bones had been uncovered. The author visited the site of the stone and carried out an investigation. This short report summarises the results of that investigation which concluded that the site located in a place known as the “rath field” contained a cremation burial.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes two black & white photographs.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Grave Slabs From Hollywood and Further Afield

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Full title: The Hollywood Slabs: Some Late Medieval Grave Slabs from West Wicklow and Neighbouring Counties

Creator / Author: Christiaan Corlett

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 25p

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 133, pp. 86-110

When Published: 2003

Publisher / Place of Publication: The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland / 63 Merrion Square South, Dublin 2

About: The author first discovered this type of grave slab in Hollywood in West Wicklow. He coined the term ‘Hollywood Slabs’ to describe them, although there are now many more such slabs to be found outside of the Hollywood area. The slabs date from the medieval period and have distinctive characteristics. This article lists and describes all such slabs known to the author at the time of writing.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: includes five pages of black/white photographs and numerous illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Extra #5: Visit the author’s website & blog

Extra #6: Link to the author’s page on Academia.edu

Laid to Rest in the White Field

© JRSAI

Full title: Excavation of Urn Burials at Clonshannon, Imaal, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: A. Mahr and L. Price

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 16pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Seventh Series, Volume 2 Number 1 pp. 75-90

When Published: June 1932

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: Around 1930, local farmer James Kavanagh uncovered an ancient grave while ploughing in a field known as the White Field. He replaced the cover stone and remembered that his father had uncovered other similar remains in the same field some forty years earlier. In 1931 word of these finds was passed on to the authors by Edward O’Toole. Excavations of the two sites were carried out in 1931 and on a third grave in 1932. Much of this article is taken up with a scholarly discussion on the pottery urns and vessels found during the excavations. The authors estimate the date of the burials to be around 700BC and they may very well have belonged to the same family group.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes several illustrations, black & white photographs and a map.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

The Riddle of the Mounds

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Full title: Excavation of a Mound at Blessington, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: Helen M. Roe and Ellen Prendergast

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 12pp + photographs

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 76 (1), pp. 1-12

When Published: April 1946

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: Thanks to money donated by members of the R.S.A.I., an excavation fund was established in 1945. Some of this fund was utilised to perform an excavation on one of five low earthen mounds in a field outside Blessington. The evidence that was uncovered points to a timeframe from medieval times to late eighteenth-century. However no definitive function has been ascribed to the monument. The article speculates that the mounds may even have been part of an unfinished grand landscaping plan in the grounds of the Marquis of Downshire.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes a plan & photograph of the site as well as illustrations and photograph of finds.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

The Old Pagan’s Grave in South West Wicklow

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Full title: Prehistoric Burial at Rath, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: Ellen Prendergast and F. P. Lisowski

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 13pp

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 89 (1), pp. 17-29

When Published: 1959

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: While working on a newly-opened sandpit, two local men came upon some large stone slabs about 3 feet below the surface. A pottery vessel was found within the confines of the slabs. Local tradition held that the ‘Old Pagan’s Grave’ was located in the vicinity. The incident was reported to the National Museum and the author of this article visited the site and carried out an archaeological investigation. This article is a detailed account of the structure of the monument and the finds associated with it. An appendix to the article by Lisowski is a scientific report on the cremated bone remains located at the site.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes a plan of the site and illustrations of pottery vessels.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Disturbing the Bed of the Bitch

© JRSAI

Full title: The Moylisha Megalith, Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: Gearóid Ó h-Iceadha

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 10pp text + 2pp photographs

Journal Information: Journal of The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 76 (3), pp. 119-128

When Published: October 1946

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: An account of an excavation of the remains of a burial cairn, known locally as Labbanasigha (meaning the bed of the bitch). This particular type of monument, called a Wedge Tomb or Gallery Grave is not all that common in Ireland. The excavation took place in 1937, the site having already been investigated 60 years earlier. The dating of the site is debatable but the article indicates a range between 2300 and 1000 BC.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes 7 black & white photographs, a plan of the site and illustrations of found material.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.