The site of a possible chapel ('keeill') and burial ground listed by P.M.C. Kermode on the strength of the place-names 'Kirkhill' and 'Claghyn ny Killey'.
While there is no certain evidence or tradition to show the exact site of the keeill, J.R. Bruce, writing in 1968, noted that graves had been turned up in recent years by J. Lowey (occupying farmer) in the 'Big Field', while 'flat stones on edge' had hindered ploughing. Reportedly many skeletons were dug up from an old graveyard on an 'uncultivated spot on the farm' before 1904.
The 'Big Field' was examined in 1963-65 under various crop-conditions, but nothing has been seen to indicate the whereabouts of the burial ground.
A Mesolithic flint site with Neolithic elements is marked on the distribution map at Kirkill, Malew, in the vicinity of SC 261734. The name does not exist in the area, although Kerrowkeil may be the location referred to, but it is more likely to be an erroneous siting of the Mesolithic site at Kirkill, Rushen.
The site of a possible chapel ('keeill') and burial ground listed by Kermode on the strength of the place-names 'Kirkhill' and 'Claghyn ny Killey'.
There is no certain evidence or tradition to show the exact site of the chapel but J.R. Bruce writing in 1968 recorded that graves had been turned up recently by J. Lowey (occupying farmer) in the 'Big Field', while 'flat stones on edge' had hindered ploughing. Reportedly many skeletons were dug up from an old graveyard on an 'uncultivated spot on the farm' before 1904.
The 'Big Field' was examined by Bruce in 1963-65 under various crop-conditions, but nothing was seen to indicate the whereabouts of the chapel or burial ground.
A late Mesolithic flint site of Clark's 'Bann River Culture' is shown on his distribution map at Kirkill, including a single microlith, two broken leaf-shaped arrowheads and tanged flakes now in the Manx Museum.
P.C. Woodman, quoting Clark, refers to Kirkill but places it on his map in the vicinity of SC 261734 in Malew, (possibly Kerrowkeil) which is likely to be an erroneous siting.
A late Mesolithic flint site of Clark's 'Bann River Culture' is shown on his distribution map at Kirkill, including a single microlith, two broken leaf-shaped arrowheads and tanged flakes now in the Manx Museum.
The flints from Kirkill also contain a Neolithic element, i.e. arrowheads and hollow scrapers, and are listed by P.C. Woodman (quoting Clark), but he locates them on his map in the vicinity of SC 261734 in Malew at Kerrowkeil, possibly in error for Kirkill.
A late Mesolithic flint site of Clark's 'Bann River Culture' is shown on his distribution map at Kirkill, including a single microlith, two broken leaf-shaped arrowheads and tanged flakes now in the Manx Museum.
P.C. Woodman, quoting Clark, refers to Kirkill but places it on his map in the vicinity of SC261734 in Malew, (possibly Kerrowkeil) which is likely to be an erroneous siting.
The flints from Kirkill also contained a Neolithic element, i.e. arrowheads and hollow scrapers, and are listed by Woodman.
A late Mesolithic flint site of Clark's 'Bann River Culture' is shown on his distribution map at Kirkill, including a single microlith, two broken leaf-shaped arrowheads and tanged flakes now in the Manx Museum.
P.C. Woodman, quoting Clark, refers to Kirkill but places it on his map in the vicinity of SC 261734 in Malew, (possibly Kerrowkeil) which is likely to be an erroneous siting.
Iron Age ringfort.
The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1868 shows an incomplete sub-circular earthwork at this location, annotated 'Fort (Remains of)'.
The site is shown on poor or rough agricultural land with a gently sloping SE aspect. At the time of the Survey a boundary, running WNW-ESE, divided the site between two fields, approximately one third of the site lying to the north of the boundary and two thirds to the south.
The Survey shows an elliptical central platform, with maximum and minimum dimensions of approximately 34 and 28m. The platform is not clearly defined on the SE side, perhaps as a result of agricultural operations.
The Survey shows a ditch around the central platform, most clearly defined on the west side, where it is around 8m wide and for a short distance has a narrow outer lip. The outer edge of the ditch is shown, unhachured, on the SE side where otherwise the central platform and ditch are not differentiated.
When visited in 1938, JR Bruce recorded the central mound as being 130' (40m) in diameter, measured to the centre of the ditch, and the ditch as 1' deep and up to 40' (12m) wide, suggesting that its width was the result of erosion; he nevertheless recorded the survival of the outer lip on the west side, much as the OS depicted it 70 years previously.
OS field inspectors in 1955 estimated the central platform to have once been up to 30m in diameter and raised 0.6m above the surrounding field, whilst the ditch was then 7m wide and 0.3m deep. When Bruce subsequently revisited the site in 1964 he described the remains as quite perceptible, but by the early 1970s they were imperceptible.
Bruce's observations in 1964 also recorded the farmer, John Lowey of Lower Kirkill, recalling that a predecessor, William Corrin, had told him that, when digging a drain in the field in c. 1914, he had found 'old timber, like trunks of small trees' on the site.
The site is now not visible at ground level, and the boundary which once crossed it has also been removed. Some differentiation in vegetation is nevertheless still apparent on aerial photographs in 2016.
Kitterland (Manx: Famman Kitterland, 'tail of the rocky isle') is a small, uninhabited islet of under 4 hectares lying in the tide-race of the Sound between the Isle of Man and the Calf of Man, now owned by the Manx National Trust. Local legend holds it is named for a Norwegian baron, Kitter, who drowned trying to cross the Sound after his castle on Barrule caught fire while he was out hunting on the Calf. The islet's treacherous currents were confirmed in 1853 when the vessel Lily struck its northern point; the master, his son and three crew were swept away and drowned even as nine others scrambled onto the rocks.
Kitterland is a small, uninhabited islet (under 4 hectares) in the Calf Sound between the Isle of Man and the Calf of Man, in the parish of Rushen and now owned by Manx National Trust. The Manx name, Famman Kitterland ("Tail of the Rocky Isle"), is traditionally linked to a legend of a Norwegian baron, Kitter, said to have drowned in the Sound. No detailed archaeological description of the reported fort survives beyond the Historic Environment Record's note of a desktop update by Dr Harry A. Robinson in 1987; no further published excavation or survey report for the site has been located.
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.
