Sources / Acmhainní

How to find out what monuments are in your area:

There are three main official sources of information on what monuments are in the country, based on the work of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

1) The Record of Monuments and Places (RMP). This consists of large-scale maps with the location of all known sites and monuments shown and an accompanying list, which gives further information on location and classification. All monuments, thus recorded, are protected under the 1994 National Monuments (Amendment) Act. This should be available in your county library.

2) The published Archaeological Inventories. A full list of published inventories can be found on the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government's website www.environ.ie or on The National Monuments Service website www.archaeology.ie under publications.

3) The Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) Archive. This holds original field reports and other records on all sites and monuments in the country and can be consulted by appointment.

Other sources:

Detailed survey volumes have been published for County Louth by the Archaeological Survey of Ireland and for County Donegal, the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas, Co. Kerry and other smaller areas by other groups. These contain more detailed descriptions of the monuments than in the inventories and also plans and sections of selected monuments. Recent text books on Irish archaeology give a more complete picture of our present state of knowledge.

Ordnance survey maps, including the 1:50,000 Discovery Series, show many monuments and many local history publications contain further details and historical information on certain monuments. The primary sources are the monuments themselves and our understanding of them is constantly changing and developing based on the results of archaeological excavations and research.