A natural hill of sand and gravel at this location rises some 15 metres above sea-level. It is known as Cronk Keeill Traie (Hill of the Keeill by the Strand). The site has long been ploughed over and no information regarding the keeill could be found.
A natural hill of sand and gravel at this location rises some 15 metres above sea-level. It is known as Cronk Keeill Traie (Hill of the Keeill by the Strand). The site has long been ploughed over and no information regarding the keeill could be found.
A natural hill of sand and gravel at this location rises some 15 metres above sea-level. It is known as Cronk Keeill Traie (Hill of the Keeill by the Strand). The site has long been ploughed over and no information regarding the keeill could be found.
This slab was found in 1925 at Ballalough (IOMHER 0933.00). It bears a simple pecked and gouged cross on one face. The associated keeill site, Cronk Keeillane, stood on a natural mound about 270 yards west-northwest of Poortown (Peel Road) railway station, south of the highroad to Peel, in the Quarterland of Ballakilworrey; the old highroad cuts through the keeill's burial ground, and lintel graves have been exposed on both sides of the road as well as in a field further to the west-southwest.
A damaged burial mound at this location has been interpreted as an Early Medieval Viking burial site.
The flat topped, bramble covered barrow measures 17.0 metres from northwest to southeast and is 2.0 metres high to the northwest side. The southwest half of the mound has been destroyed by a post-medieval farm lane which has cut through the monument. By its topographical situation and size Megaw considered it to be a probable Viking Burial Mound.
Neolithic Ronaldsway type pottery has been found in the mound, but interpreted as having been "probably scooped up into the mound, and of no significance for classification of the mound." Nevertheless, it is possible that the mound represents a prehistoric funerary monument.
A damaged burial mound at this location has been interpreted as an Early Medieval Viking burial site. Neolithic Ronaldsway type pottery has been found in the mound, but interpreted as having been "probably scooped up into the mound, and of no significance for classification of the mound."
The flat topped, bramble covered barrow measures 17.0 m from northwest to southeast and is 2.0 m high to the northwest side. The southwest half of the mound has been destroyed by a post-medieval farm lane which has cut through the monument. By its topographical situation and size Megaw considered it to be a probable Viking Burial Mound. Nevertheless, it is possible that the mound represents a prehistoric funerary monument.
Prehistoric flint scatter.
A small quantity of worked prehistoric flint was recovered from Cronk Lammag by CH Cowley.
No further details concerning the circumstances of the discovery were recorded and the grid reference relates to the summit of the hill for indicative purposes only.
The antiquary Charles Harry Cowley was an avid collector of worked flint and coarse stone artefacts revealed by agricultural activity, mainly on farms located around Peel, and occasionally from further afield. He was active from 1900 until 1943. His entire collection of artefacts, together with a daybook cataloguing his discoveries, was later donated to Manx National Heritage.
It has been suggested that there were earthworks on the summit of Cronk Lheannag, in the field numbered 2128 on the 1869 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey map, but these are not now apparent.
Excavations were carried out on the site of a possible prehistoric barrow on the edge of Jurby aerodrome, formerly part of the estate of Ballamooar, by Group-Capt. F.R. Worthington (RAF Jurby) in 1953. The burial mound had been demolished more than a hundred years ago during agricultural improvements. The barrow was marked on a manuscript map of 1840 and clearly visible on aerial photographs but proved to be devoid of identifiable features. One chisel-ended flint has been found at the site.
A record based on the field name "Upper Kil Field" which was interpreted by William Cubbon as a possible keeill placename. Dr Larch S. Garrad noted that in Manx speech a terminal "n" is sometimes dropped and therefore the name could be derived from "kiln". No archaeological features have been recorded relating to either a keeill or kiln site however.
The Hill of Day Watch and Port of the Night Watch (Watch and Ward) for Jurby parish was at 'Knockmore' according to a document in the Castle Rushen Papers dated to 1627. It has been suggested that the now lost burial mound of Cronk Mooar was the site of "Knockmore". An alternative site at Cronk ny Arrey Lhaa, 0260.00, has been proposed. The majority of the Watch and Ward posts may well have been maintained on the same sites from the medieval period into the post medieval period.
Medieval burials. An annotated map showing antiquarian notes maintained at the Manx Museum records 'Graves found about 1875 by Corrin; ?Viking'. The observation was recorded by William Cubbon, director of the museum between 1932 and 1940.
No further information is known and the annotation is marked at the grid reference provided.
Cronk Mooar was a medieval burial mound which was excavated fully before it was lost to coastal erosion in the mid-20th century. Cronk Mooar was surveyed and archaeologically removed by Mr (later Professor) I. Bowen at the request of the Air Ministry in 1939. Investigation was curtailed at the outbreak of war but was resumed by Dr G. Bersu in 1945.
The 1939 excavation found that the mutilated, sandy mound appeared to have been 10-11 metres in diameter and about 3.0 metres high before its systematic removal down to the probable old turf-line. No trace of structures were found except for the remains of a wooden beam which protruded from an infilled central pit (not investigated until 1945). The mound material revealed some flints, including artefacts, burnt clay, charcoal, fragments of iron slag, burnt bone and evidently a number of nails which were erroneously considered (as proved in 1945) to belong to a ship burial.
In 1945 the second excavation investigated the untouched soil beneath the removed mound; the humus above this level contained flints, iron slag, animal bone, possibly daub and some badly eroded prehistoric pottery. The central pit and decayed wooden beam, located by Bowen, was further investigated. The sides of the pit were lined with wooden planks forming a box or coffin which Wilson later interpreted as a probable 'Kammergrab' (Scandanavian timber-lined burial chamber). This feature contained at its base an extended Viking male burial, much decayed, together with a Celtic ring-headed pin, wooden-handled iron knife with leather sheath, bronze strap-distributor, a bronze strap-end made from a Celtic (probably Irish) book clasp and an iron sword (broken in three places) with an ornamented scabbard. Fragments of textiles were identified as the remains of a woollen cloak which had been worn by the deceased.
When the buried soils beneath Cronk Mooar burial mound, 1069.00, were excavated in 1945, six infilled post holes and shallow depressions were found to the north and northeast of the grave. These were interpreted as the remains of a Neolithic settlement site.
In the south part of this area, were a series of plough marks and a probable field boundary scratched into the untouched soil; in three places these cut through the earlier post holes. The plough marks and field-boundary ran parallel to the existing land divisions and were regarded as dating to the Viking period.
