Landscapes

Places that only make sense together

Some archaeology exists at the scale of a valley, a plain or a peninsula. These records hold the monuments, sources and questions of a whole landscape.

• KilmonasterA landscape of megalithic monuments in the lowlands east of Raphoe, overlooked by Croaghan Hill. Several of the monuments recorded here are damaged or survive only partly, which makes this a landscape to be reconstructed as much as visited.
• Magh nÍthaThe historic name for the fertile plain of the Finn and Foyle around Raphoe and Lifford. Medieval tradition explains the name through Íth, a figure of the Lebor Gabála Érenn; archaeologically, it is a lowland rich in prehistoric monuments, including Beltany stone circle.
• InishowenThe peninsula between Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle, named for Eógan, ancestor of the Cenél nEógain. It holds Grianán of Aileach at its southern edge and a wide range of prehistoric and early medieval monuments across its uplands.