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The tomb is east to find, signposted down the side road. There is also a sign on the Athlone to Tuam road.
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The tomb is in a little glade, filled with the aroma of wild garlic. Some of the cairn material remains.
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The capstone, having slipped off the portals, rests on two chamber stones. Only one portal remains, but you can see the doorstone here, collapsed back into the chamber.
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The tomb is alongside an old bridle-path, restored and re-opened by the Drum Heritage Group.
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The good side, with the portal and chamber stones intact. The capstone has slipped back of the portals, destroying the other side of the chamber.
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West-north-west into Tallaght, of interest here, but a modern folly(?).
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Nice setting, and worth a visit if you’re heading for the two ruined passage graves above, but not prehistoric.
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Viewed north-east over the city towards Howth, on the northern slopes of Monpelier Hill, below the Hellfire Club and the remains of two passage graves is this curiosity, almost certainly of modern provenance.
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Imagine our disappointment having read this description – In level pasture. Stone (H 3.8m; 1.67m x 0.55m) is subrectangular in plan and irregular in shape, long axis E-W – only to find it now sadly fallen. Ah well.
The mound would have been fairly substantial.
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The tomb had a bank and ditch, visible to the left, south side. The northern arc has been completely flattened.
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Snow brings out the lumps and bumps of the old tomb.
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The depression of the robbed out chamber.
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Now is the time to visit this as pretty soon it will be very overgrown and the various fallen stones will be hidden. Very frustrating that this is not in state care and looked after every once in a while.
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I got a sense today that the chamber below the capstone literally exploded out from the immense weight bearing down on it. Could be nonsense of course.
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The capstone here is the only rival to Browne’s Hill themodernantiquarian.com/site/887/brownes_hill.html that i know of.
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A rare sample of megalithic engraving or “rock-scribing” has been found on an ancient pilgrimage route to Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo.
The prehistoric ornamentation resembles that found in Lough Crew, Co Meath, and is one of just of two rock art samples of its type to be identified west of the Shannon, according to archaeologist Michael Gibbons.
The panel had been concealed behind the outcropping at the Boheh townland known as St Patrick’s chair, which has some 250 petroglyphs or carvings on its surface. The carvings are believed to have been inspired by the “rolling sun” phenomenon, where the setting sun appears to glide down the flank of Croagh Patrick during the months of April and August.
More: irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/megalithic-rock-scribing-found-near-croagh-patrick-1.2119328
I finally made it to this stone, Ballybought (Baile Bocht) wart stone, after 5 aborted visits, livestock in the large field always putting me off. The stone is about 200 metres into the field from the little bridge that fords the north to south flowing stream, on the eastern side of the small valley.
The ovoid bullaun dominates the large, metre and a half long boulder, at least a foot wide on its longer axis. I didn’t feel like testing its depth. There are very faint cupmarks on the boulder too. Lumps of quartzite speckle the granite. The stone seems to have been cut on its south-east edge, though many moons ago.
On leaving I realised there were livestock in the field still, hidden beyond the crest of the hill. Oh well.
This blog examines mountain environments from the perspective of landscape archaeology; what people did on and around mountains and how this can inform us about how ancient and not so ancient people used, perceived and interacted with these places.
‘Visual rubbing’ of a rock art panel in Derreennaclogh, Co Cork.
?What remains are two large slabs and the assemblage that gives the site its name.
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Cromlech Fields, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin 1/1/15
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Very strange, shaped stone at this site, part of a passage maybe.
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The basin is at least a foot wide on its longer axis.
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