Medieval watch place. The site is recorded in the Castle Rushen Papers in a document dated 1627 as both the Hill of the Day Watch, and the Hill or Port of the Night Watch, for the parish of Andreas.
The findspot of an early prehistoric flint scatter which included worked flints, a barbed and tanged arrowhead, a spindle whorl, scrapers and flint flakes.
Viking Age ship burial. The prominent, grass-covered burial mound at Knock e Dooney was excavated by Philip Kermode in 1927. The mound was 15.5m in diameter and 2.4m high. It proved to contain a Viking boat burial of 900-950 AD, the boat being defined by about 300 iron rivets, most having decayed wood attached to them. The positions of the rivets showed that the boat was 8.5-9m long and 1.8-2.4m wide.
The body had been laid in the boat wrapped in a cloak, and accompanied by a sword, shield and spear. Domestic articles such as fishing gear, tools including a hammer and tongs, knives and harness links were laid in the stern. A horse and a dog also accompanied the burial.
The site is recorded in the Castle Rushen Papers in a document dated 1627 as both the Hill of the Day Watch and the Hill or Port of the Night Watch for the parish of Andreas.
Viking Age ship burial. The prominent, grass-covered burial mound at Knock e Dooney was excavated by Philip Kermode in 1927. The mound was 15.5m in diameter and 2.4m high. It proved to contain a Viking boat burial of 900-950 AD, the boat being defined by about 300 iron rivets, most having decayed wood attached to them. The positions of the rivets showed that the boat was 8.5-9m long and 1.8-2.4m wide.
The body had been laid in the boat wrapped in a cloak, and accompanied by a sword, shield and spear. Domestic articles such as fishing gear, tools including a hammer and tongs, knives and harness links were laid in the stern. A horse and a dog also accompanied the burial.
Medieval burial mound; execution site.
The mound is about 14m in diameter and 2.1m high, but is somewhat irregular due to disturbance in the past. While the natural limestone bedrock is very close to the surface and outcrops in the vicinity, the mound itself appears to be of mixed stone and earthen construction.
The site has never been excavated, but is perfectly located to have served as a burial monument of the kind constructed by pagan Viking settlers on the Island in the late 9th or early 10th century.
Tradition states that the mound was used also as a place of execution.
Medieval burial mound.
The mound is about 14m in diameter and 2.1m high, but is somewhat irregular due to disturbance in the past. While the natural limestone bedrock is very close to the surface and outcrops in the vicinity, the mound itself appears to be of mixed stone and earthen construction.
The site has never been excavated, but is perfectly located to have served as a burial monument of the kind constructed by pagan Viking settlers on the Island in the late 9th or early 10th century, and is comparable with the nearby sites of Chapel Hill and Hango Hill, as well as the burials along the coast in Jurby and at Knock y Dooney.
Medieval burial ground. When the site was investigated by the Manx Archaeological Survey in 1911, the chapel was described as standing on a slight eminence, though this is now less obvious. It is not certain if this represents the remains of a burial ground, but the recovery of two stone monuments would appear to imply the presence of burials.
An early medieval inscribed stone which has a plain outline cross within a ring incised on one face. It was found in 1911 and measures 20.3 centimetres by 16.5 centimetres by 7.5 centimetres. The stone is kept at Andreas parish church.
Medieval cross slab. During excavation of the keeill by the Manx Archaeological Survey in 1911, a small broken boulder was recovered with a plain cross outlined within a ring incised on one face (Manx Cross 37).
This broken boulder was found in 1911 amongst stones being cleared from the keeill by the Manx Archaeological Survey. On one side is pecked an equal limbed cross in outline, with open-ended arms. Four irregular arcs link the limbs of the cross to provide a rather oval frame.
Medieval chapel and burial ground. The site lies on an open, south-facing slope on cultivated ground, within a fenced enclosure. When investigated by the Manx Archaeological Survey in 1911, the chapel was described as standing on a slight eminence, though this is now less obvious. The structure is orientated ENE-WSW, and measures 9.7 x 8.2m internally. The walls average 1.1m in thickness, and stand to a maximum of 1m. The walls are constructed using beach boulders and surface stones (no quarried stone is available close by in the glacially-derived landscape), packed with sandy material. Stonework was particularly noted on the inner faces of the 'south' and 'west' walls, but was otherwise only intermittently visible. The outer wall faces are obscured by material derived from the collapse of the building, and the weight of material was found to have forced the 'north' and 'south' walls inwards.
The doorway is in the 'west' gable, and the threshold was found to be sunken below the level of the ground outside. A slight rebate in both walls of the doorway suggests that the door was positioned roughly in the middle of the thickness of the wall. A socket stone on which the door might have pivoted, was also found.
A large flat slab was found on the altar at the 'east' end of the chapel, having slipped from its original position forming the sill of an east window. No other evidence for windows was recognised.
The chapel was found to have had a cobbled floor, on which the altar had been constructed. This substantially survived, with a plain slab forming the altar top and measuring 0.7 by 0.4 by 0.05m. The slab had been carefully balanced on side slabs, one of which was still in position, and would have created an altar table standing 0.6m high.
A substantial number - over one hundred - white quartz pebbles were found in the vicinity of the altar, and probably represent votive or prayer offerings.
No firm evidence of burials was met with, although two monuments were recovered. One of these was a small broken boulder with a plain cross outlined within a ring incised on one face (Manx Cross 37). The other, a tall pillar of slate (see Manx Cross 5) bears bilingual inscriptions in Roman and Ogham characters recording the burial of Ammecatus son of Rocatus.
Medieval chapel. When investigated by the Manx Archaeological Survey in 1911, the chapel was described as standing on a slight eminence, though this is now less obvious. The structure is orientated ENE-WSW, and measures 9.7 x 8.2m internally. The walls average 1.1m in thickness, and stand to a maximum of 1m. The walls are constructed using beach boulders and surface stones (no quarried stone is available close by in the glacially-derived landscape), packed with sandy material. Stonework was particularly noted on the inner faces of the 'south' and 'west' walls, but was otherwise only intermittently visible. The outer wall faces are obscured by material derived from the collapse of the building, and the weight of material was found to have forced the 'north' and 'south' walls inwards.
The doorway is in the 'west' gable, and the threshold was found to be sunken below the level of the ground outside. A slight rebate in both walls of the doorway suggests that the door was positioned roughly in the middle of the thickness of the wall. A socket stone on which the door might have pivoted, was also found.
A large flat slab was found on the altar at the 'east' end of the chapel, having slipped from its original position forming the sill of an east window. No other evidence for windows was recognised.
The chapel was found to have had a cobbled floor, on which the altar had been constructed. This substantially survived, with a plain slab forming the altar top and measuring 0.7 by 0.4 by 0.05m. The slab had been carefully balanced on side slabs, one of which was still in position, and would have created an altar table standing 0.6m high.
A substantial number - over one hundred - white quartz pebbles were found in the vicinity of the altar, and probably represent votive or prayer offerings.
This stone pillar was found during excavation of the chapel (IOMHER 0343.00) in 1911. It stood just to the west of the chapel, not far from the doorway in the west gable. standing in a keeill. It bears an ogham inscription along one edge and an inscription in Roman capitals on one face, 'AMMECAT FILIUS ROCAT HIC IACIT'. Both record the burial of Ammecatus, son of Rocatus. The stone is now on display in the Manx Museum.
The smaller barrow in a pair of barrows or burial mounds. The 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map shows a large mound with a smaller mound abutting its western side.
This smaller barrow measures about 5 metres in diameter and up to 0.5 metres high. It reportedly was opened in 1880 and Viking weapons were discovered within the mound. A note by Dr F.S. Tellet, of Ramsey states they were found 'in a flagged cist' in the barrow, and that a perforated stone disc was also found with them. The upper part of the blade of an iron sword, with a crescentic hilt guard is now kept in the Manx Museum Accession No. 1954-3741). The base of a socketed iron spearhead with wings on the socket also came from this barrow (kept in the Manx Museum Accession No. 1954-3742).
The larger barrow is recorded as having suffered damage by cattle erosion in the past, to the extent that it had to be fenced off for protection. This larger mound has been described as "a gorse covered mound which by its size and topographical situation - on a small hillock - is comparable to known Viking burial mounds… The top of the mound is eroding away. Height 2.5 m; Diameter 16.0 m."
The larger of a pair of barrows or burial mounds. The 1870 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map shows a large mound with a smaller mound abutting its western side.
The larger barrow is recorded as having suffered damage by cattle erosion in the past, to the extent that it had to be fenced off for protection. This larger mound has been described as "a gorse covered mound which by its size and topographical situation - on a small hillock - is comparable to known Viking burial mounds… The top of the mound is eroding away. Height 2.5 m; Diameter 16.0 m."
The smaller barrow measures about 5 metres in diameter and up to 0.5 metres high. It reportedly was opened in 1880 and Viking weapons were discovered within the mound, including part of a sword, part of a spearhead (PRN 0272.00).
A flint scatter and pottery sherds of probable Bronze Age date found in the area of the Early Medieval Knock y Dowan barrows, which have produced Viking artefacts.
