A reasonable assessment of what these remains might and might not be.
ryaner
The seat, a modern concoction, at the end of a small path. The stones to the left, back down said path, are the real deal.
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The stones in their little copse, mostly left alone.
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200 metres north of the crossroads barrow is another, less visible. There are at least 7 others recorded at Greatheath.
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The finest of the Greatheath barrows and the most accessible.
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This barrow stands at a crossroads in Greatheath.
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The furthest south-west and the best preserved of the barrows in Greatheath.
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Blessington barrow, Summer Solstice 2025.
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The mound in the near distance is the tomb. Very little building activity close by but that could change soon.
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Late April before the heavier growth obscures the stones.
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Clochabhile, Lough Gur, County Limerick
Clochabhile or the Stone of the Sacred Tree unites in itself the Celtic concepts of sacred trees and central stones. The pillar stands a short distance from the Grange Stone Circle at Lough Gur, an area traditionally linked to the goddess Áine and to Fer Í, Eogabal and Eoghan, the mythical ancestors of the mighty Eóganacht sept. The current use of the term eo, which is Irish for ‘a yew’, illustrates the high reverence of the clan for that species of tree and we can easily imagine that Clochabhile was formerly joined by a yew considered sacred to the Eóganachta. The tree and its history are lost, but local lore knows of a magic tree on the bottom of Lough Gur, which would only surface once in seven years.
From Stones of Adoration, by Christine Zucchelli. The Collins Press 2007
© Tailte Éireann | National Monuments Services
LE025-093001- : Megalithic tomb – passage tomb : FENAGH BEG
Situated on a rise in an area of rock outcrop and pasture on the W side of a N-S ravine (Wth c. 100m) that is sometimes the SE end of a turlough extending from Lough Reane, which is c. 800m to the NW. This is a rectangular grass-covered cairn (dims of base 15.7m N-S; 11.9m E-W; dims of top 8.2m N-S; 5.4m E-W; H 0.45m at E to 1.7m at S) with kerbstones on the perimeter at N and a chamber (dims 0.8m x 1.1m) at the centre. Cremated bone, six bone pendants, the head of a bone pin, and one quartz and two chalk balls were recovered from the cairn in 1928 (Gogan 1930, 90). The passage tomb (LE025-093002-) lies c. 25m to the SE, the cairn (LE025-093003-) is c. 50m to the SW, and the portal tomb (LE025-092----) is c. 120m to the N. (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1972, 142; Herity 1974, 277-8, Le 3)
The above description is derived from ‘The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim’ compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
References: de Valera, R. and Ó Nualláin, S. 1972 Survey of the megalithic tombs of Ireland, vol. 3, Counties Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Laoighis, Offaly, Kildare, Cavan. Dublin. Stationery Office.
Gogan, L.S. 1930 Irish stone pendants. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Series 2, 35, 90-95.
Herity, M. 1974 Irish Passage Graves. Dublin. Irish University Press.
The small ecosystem that now occupies the top of the capstone.
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The main stem of the ivy has been cut since I was last here.
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Now is probably the best time of the year to visit this.
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Oriented NNE-SSW and mighty fine.
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General view looking north – some of the covering cairn remains.
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The first chamber – the sidestone in the foreground is 1.7 metres long.
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Over the first chamber of the three-or-four-chambered gallery – a roofstone or lintel partially covers the chamber.
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The front two chambers – the stone in the foreground is the remaining segmenting jambstone that divides the gallery between the second and third chambers.
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From the back of the tomb at the north-west – Sliabh An Iarainn (Slieve Anierin) in the distance.
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The stone towards the bottom left is the backstone of the gallery – the small court to the right has been colonised by the holly tree and the rushes.
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The site on approach from the road – Lough Allen behind in the distance.
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It would be difficult to try and eke out a living on the land here.
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Looking south down the drumlin – the land around here is very poor.
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Looking down on the stone – two complete basins at the top and two broken along the bottom side.
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Dig into the Story in Amplify Archaeology Podcast Episode 44 with Christine Baker
Underneath the quiet fields on the headland of Drumanagh in North County Dublin, lies a truly exciting story. This headland is home to one of the most important promontory forts in Ireland, where an innovative community archaeology programme is uncovering connections between Iron Age Ireland and the Roman World. Lead archaeologist Christine Baker tells us all about it in this episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.
“This house was likely built by some of the earliest faming communities to settle in the Cork Harbour region and is assumed to have housed a single family group,” the video explains.
The low eastern arc of the henge – the road up to the Hill of Tara is to the left.
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Zoomed in a bit through the gate. Impressive pice of carving all the same.
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No remedial changes since I last checked here. It’s actually gotten worse.
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