By the time I had reached this site fog had settled and I very nearly set off for home without taking a lokk at it. I sat and waited in the car, eating my lunch and drinking coffee, just in case it cleared. It didn't. I decided to go up anyway.
This is possibly the largest passage tomb in the area. The 15m diameter kerb is massive with some of the stones being over 2m in length and 1m high. At the centre of the monument a handful of large stones define parts of the central chamber. Some of these are over 1.5m tall.
The site seems to stand inside the compound to what may have once been an army listening post. A weird barrack-type building stands just down the slope and the hilltop bristles with aerials. Obviously, the fog prevented me from seeing any of the views.
One thing I did notice on the way back down from the site was a small quarry. This had scatters of flint nodules spread all about and I could clearly see a seam of flint in the rock face. Antrim is Ireland's only source of this once precious material.
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_All Sites Visited On 25th February 2007 « Previous Site Next Site »
The first time I was here the weather was terrible. This time I could experience the views, which stretch as far as the Scottish mainland and islands.
With weather being a bit more pleasant I was able to take the time to look at the remains a bit closer. Two stones caught my eye - the backstone of the chamber is the only one that it heavily encrusted with quartz pebbles, and there is a solitary red stone just outside the kerb to the southeast. It's always interesting when you find odd stones at a monument. Why were they chosen and what significance did the difference have to the builders?
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_A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Slievethoul (Co. Dublin) |  Carrowkeel - Cairn B (Co. Sligo) |  Carrowmore Tomb 56 (Co. Sligo) |
 Knocklea (Co. Dublin) |  Annaghmore Glebe (Co. Fermanagh) |  Seahan IV (Co. Dublin) |
