Archaeologically Significant Built Heritage in Ireland

This contains records taken from the Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) dataset, updated in 2018 and published from the National Monuments Service Sites and Monuments Record. The ASI has focused on recording monuments dating from before AD 1700, along with more recent sites selected according to their interest or merit. Locations of monuments within 2km of the coastline were extracted from the ASI dataset by Land Use Consultants (LUC).

The records were downloaded from the data source URL in CSV format. The table included latitude/longitude locations for each record. The table was converted into ESRI shapefile and the records within the 2km coastal zone were extracted.

Since its inception in 1963, the Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) has focused on recording monuments dating from before AD 1700, along with more recent sites selected according to their interest or merit. A Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) was issued for all counties in the State between 1984 and 1992. The SMR is a manual containing a numbered list of all certain and possible monuments accompanied by 6-inch Ordnance Survey maps (at a reduced scale). An Urban Archaeology Survey was completed in 1995 and contained reports on historic towns dating to before AD 1700 with a view to delineating zones of archaeological potential. Both the SMR and the Urban Archaeological Survey reports were issued to all planning authorities. The SMR formed the basis for issuing the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) - the statutory list of recorded monuments established under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994. The RMP was issued for each county between 1995 and 1998 in a similar format to the existing SMR. However, the RMP differs from the earlier lists in that, as defined in the Act, only monuments with known locations or places where there are believed to be monuments are included. The large archive and supporting database are managed by the National Monuments Service and the records are continually updated and supplemented as additional monuments are discovered.

Please note that the centre point of each record is not indicative of the geographic extent of the monument. The existing point centroids were digitised relative to the OSI 6-inch mapping and the move from this older IG-referenced series to the larger-scale ITM mapping will necessitate revisions. The accuracy of the derived ITM co-ordinates is limited to the OS 6-inch scale and errors may ensue should the user apply the co-ordinates to larger scale maps. Records that do not refer to 'monuments' are designated 'Redundant record' and are retained in the archive as they may relate to features that were once considered to be monuments but which on investigation proved otherwise. Redundant records may also refer to duplicate records or errors in the data structure of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland.