Liss

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    • #707262
      pat
      Participant

      :confused: Can anyone help,
      i was left an old farm cottage some years ago in Galway. towards the rear of the property is a large mound of earth with some 20-30 trees. i was told this mound was called a Liss?, a look-out post, a burial place for young babies. i live in eng but would like to know more about this structure could anyone point me the right direction. Cheers.

    • #745261
      roskav
      Participant

      Funny I was about to say it should be spelled lois but I see there are lots of variations … lios … lis… used as a prefix sometimes in modern placenames… meaning a fort .. generally of residence that can date from bronze age to iron age or later… the ones that would have had use up to recent times would have had churches and graveyards in them. The early christians appropriated the same forts that their countrymen would have used… secular uses overlapping with the religious use of the site.
      Does it have any signs of building (church) on it? Sometimes you will find a church with a small graveyard … but you can count on it that the actual burial area including unbaptised babies etc was far bigger… or a specific area outside the main enclosure.
      There are lots of books that would have info on this type of structure… Try “Pre Christian Ireland” by Peter Harbison Thames and Hudson for some general info.. good read too. Also most Counties have an Archeological inventory published or in production… you could have a look in the local library for that ….

    • #745262
      JL
      Participant

      V interesting – Will have to get that book.

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