Hut site, Losset, Co. Donegal
On a narrow terrace carved into a steep, west-facing hillside in Losset, County Donegal, sits a mysterious rectangular stone structure that has puzzled archaeologists for decades.
Hut site, Losset, Co. Donegal
Measuring roughly 4 metres north to south and 2 to 2.5 metres east to west internally, this ancient construction makes clever use of the landscape; its eastern wall is formed by a massive erratic boulder, 4 metres long and 1.6 metres high, whilst the remaining three sides consist of carefully placed stones set on edge, the largest reaching 1.9 metres in length. The interior, now filled with grass-covered peat, rises half a metre above the surrounding ground level, suggesting centuries of accumulated organic material.
The true nature of this enigmatic site remains uncertain, though it may have served as a primitive hut or shelter of considerable age. Its intriguing local name, ‘Dermot and Grania’s Bed’, connects it to the tragic lovers of Irish mythology who fled across Ireland to escape the wrath of Fionn mac Cumhaill. This romantic association isn’t unique in Irish archaeology; many ancient sites bear similar names linking them to the star-crossed couple’s legendary flight.
Adding to the site’s mystique is a cartographic muddle that persisted for over a century. The Ordnance Survey’s 1847-9 six-inch map mistakenly placed the structure some 300 metres north of its actual location, an error that wasn’t officially corrected until much later. This confusion led to duplicate entries in both the 1987 Sites and Monuments Record and the 1995 Record of Monuments and Places for County Donegal, with separate records for both the real and phantom locations. The site was properly documented in the Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland in 2002, finally setting the record straight on this atmospheric remnant of Ireland’s distant past.





