Images

Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Over the south-facing passage with Gullion and its ring to the west in south Armagh.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Classic Clermont view over the top of the cairn – down the Cooley peninsula to the right and over to the Mournes to the left, split by Carlingford Lough.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Approaching from the north-west. The mound is quite substantial.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Slieve Gullion to the north-west from on top of the cairn.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Pano from on top of the cairn looking from almost north to almost south with both Carlingford Lough and Dundalk Bay visible, the Cooley peninsula stretching south-east into the distance.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

Looking north-east towards the Mournes over Carlingford Lough from the top of the cairn.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

The cairn/passage grave on Black Mountain in Ravensdale Park.

Image credit: ryaner
Image of Ravensdale Park (Passage Grave) by ryaner

The flattened top of the cairn/passage grave on the summit of Black Mountain.

Image credit: ryaner

Articles

Ravensdale Park

You can drive right up to this mountaintop cairn, though I suggest you wait until the cloud clears, unlike us who drove up in maybe 10 metre visibility and a force 10 gale. There is a huge mast up here, hence the road, and the howls as the wind blew through it added to an already spooky atmosphere.

The cairn, said to be a passage grave (see archaeology.ie entry) is about 3 metres high. Much of it is now grass covered, though there are patches where its true nature is still visible. There are quite a few larger stones around, though I couldn’t make head nor tail of these, battling as I was with the driving mist of low cloud.

I would say that the views from here are spectacular but we couldn’t see to confirm that. As it’s a driveable climb, I may re-visit here some day to check.

Miscellaneous

Ravensdale Park
Passage Grave

From the Arch. Inventory of Co. Louth:

This circular hilltop cairn, 21m in diameter and over 4m in height, contains the remains of a megalithic structure 3.5m long, in the SW quadrant. It is open to the SW and narrows from 1m wide to 0.5m at the rear. Three lintels are in position; the rear 0.7m of the structure is corbelled. The remains would seem to be those of a passage-tomb of uncertain design. Near the centre of the cairn are the remains of a drystone-walled circular structure, 3.3m in diameter, with an entrance passage opening to the SE, which may have been built by Lord Clermont. (CLAJ 1941, 77-9; Herity 1974, 232).

Sites within 20km of Ravensdale Park