M. R. Colhoun documented what he called ‘Kilpatrick field with a graveyard nearby’, though subsequent surveys have found no visible trace of either feature. The site, catalogued as DG012-014002, sits on elevated ground that offers commanding views across the bay, the kind of location often favoured for early burial sites in Ireland.

When archaeologists from the Donegal Archaeological Survey visited the area, they discovered something intriguing at the western end of the raised ground: a pile of small stones that defies easy interpretation. It could be a cairn, a deliberate monument marking burials or boundaries; it might be simple field clearance from agricultural activity; or it could indeed be the remnants of the graveyard that Colhoun mentioned in his earlier records. The ambiguous nature of these stone deposits is common in Irish archaeology, where centuries of farming, weather, and reuse have often obscured the original purpose of such features.

The mystery surrounding Kilpatrick field reflects broader challenges in documenting Ireland’s archaeological heritage. Many sites recorded by earlier antiquarians have since disappeared or become so degraded that their original function can only be guessed at. The 1983 Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, which forms the basis for this site’s official record, represents one of the most comprehensive attempts to catalogue these elusive remnants of the past, even when all that remains is a puzzling pile of stones on a windswept hillside.