When geologist G.H. Kinahan first documented them in 1889, he described them as ‘rude ancient structures of squarish slabs of stone set on edge’, noting that locals called them ‘Dane’s houses’. So rough and weathered were these constructions that Kinahan remarked they could easily be mistaken for makeshift shelters for lambs or calves, though he did observe what appeared to be faint traces of ancient carving on one of the stones.

These enigmatic structures sparked considerable debate amongst antiquarians and archaeologists. William Copeland Borlase catalogued them as dolmens in 1897, whilst later scholars Lord Killanin and Michael Duignan classified them as chamber tombs in the 1960s. Despite this scholarly attention, the structures were never significant enough to warrant inclusion on the Ordnance Survey maps of the area, though Kinahan did carefully mark their location on his geological field maps, which are now preserved in the Geological Survey Office in Dublin.

The mystery deepened when modern archaeologists attempted to relocate these structures. Despite careful searching at the location Kinahan had marked and throughout the surrounding area, no trace of the supposed megalithic monuments could be found. The Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland, published in 2002, concluded there was no convincing evidence that these features were actually megalithic tombs at all. Whether they were misidentified natural formations, crude agricultural structures, or genuine ancient monuments that have since been destroyed or buried remains unknown; another tantalising piece of Ireland’s archaeological puzzle that has slipped through the fingers of time.