ryaner

The sun came out for a bit and brought out the art.

The decorated stone discovered by Ken Williams 2 years ago,

Looking south-west.

Standing well back on the bank on the northern arc of the circle.

The always wonderful Kernanstown Dolmen.

That ridgeline is always mesmerising.

Sunday spin with my daughter and we took this one in, again – “Do we have to Dad?”

Ballykeel is great – the hill in the distance, to the north, is part of the Ring of Gullion.

Ballykeel looked majestic today.

The fairy tree and the old plough rule the roost here.

Another shot of the court and chamber.

The tomb is wrecked with a discernible chamber, though impossible to photograph properly.

The stones in the right foreground are the remains of a shallow court, those on the left are unsocketed and dumped there.

Now is probably the best time of year to visit Lemgare, isolated on the border between Monagahan and Armagh.

The overgrown mound/cairn that contains the remain of the tomb.

It was a full-on bluebell kinda day.

The tomb as we approached it from the east.

Possible remains of a wedge tomb.

I didn’t have the heart to remove the plant life here.

In the same woods as Killydrutan, late spring vibes abound.

The small chamber is all that remains at Skeagarvey.

Another angle of the court. The place is a mess.

Three possible gallery/chamber stones, the middle being the only one still standing.

Another arrangement of stones, further confusing the photographer – they’re about 40 metres away from the ‘court’.

Quartz encrusted stone in the foreground.

Once again, possibly a shallow court and entrance.

Perplexing remains – I think the setting on the right is a very shallow entrance court.

Utterly neglected site, there’d be very little to see here in summer.

I uncovered this quartz-faced stone. It’s in a line of three stones, the only one of which is still in its original position is the stone furthest away in this shot. I had thought they might have been kerbstones of a covering cairn, but there’s a socketed stone even further out from the main structure, squashing my theory.

I think this may be the entrance.

Whatever the original layout of the tomb, this one would have been enormous.

The most southerly of the six cairns, fully in Spinans Hill townland. The other five are in Ballyhubbock Upper.

The modern wall crosses the cairn and delineates the townland boundary between Ballyhubbock Upper on the right and Spinans Hill on the left.

The stones in the right foreground could be remains of a subsidiary cist from the old cairn, or they could be the remains of a central chamber structure.

The cairn is badly wrecked.

Destroyed central cairn, said to be a passage tomb.

Another view of the central cist, or possibly even the chamber of a small passage tomb.

Central cist.

Kerbstones, or possible passage portal stones, at the easterly of the twin cairns.

Possibly the best preserved of the six cairns with kerbstones and a central cist.

Twin cairns in Ballyhubbock Upper townland, part of the Spinans Hill cairn cemetery.

Kerbstones just about visible.

Kerbstones visible on the northern side of of one of the cairns.

The most northerly of the six cairns looking north.

The most northerly of the six cairns.

Centre firepit with 3-armed Brigid’s cross and quartz offerings.

11 stones remain from the original 20.

They left a substantial margin between the trees and the circle this time, allowing a bit of breathing space but encroaching on the views. Keadeen doesn’t mind either way.

Brusselstown ring with Keadeen behind, from just below the summit of Spinans Hill.

Fine light at the place of the sun today.