Visited 27th August 2003: Ballakelly sits in a small circular enclosure in a field adjacent to the A25. Parking is appalling, and the road is relatively busy (for the Isle of Man). We squeezed our little car into a gateway across the road, but it felt temporary, and contributed towards a very brief visit.
The stones that make up the site fall into two distinct groups. The chamber on the north west side of the site, and a scattering of stones on the ground to the south east. When we visited there was quite long grass growing around the stones, which combined with the restrictive perimeter fence made it difficult to figure out. Having read up a bit on the site since our visit, I realise we missed both cup marks and the end of a splitting wedge lodged in one of the scattered stones.
Would have liked more time to figure this one out.
The book Prehistoric Sites in the Isle of Man, published by Manx National Heritage, gives a good description of Ballakelly:
The site consists of a simple rectangular chamber built of two very large stones with an end wedged between them, and an open on the south-east side. The chamber is exposed to its full height, roughly 3 feet. A kerb of heavy stones, only one of which is missing, is set close to the chamber. The larger kerb stone behind the chamber bears rows of cupmarks.
According to the book the scattered stones to the south east of the chamber (or 'prone slabs') have all been moved from elsewhere. The solitary standing stone to the north east of the site is thought to be an original feature.
A page by David Radcliffe, with three photos and a description on it. One of the photos shows a stone with the end of a splitting wedge lodged in it (which I managed to miss on my visit).
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