Location: This is the first tomb you will reach on the Carrowkeel complex if you follow the road to where it ends. It can be easily spotted but bring a GPS if you are unsure.
OS: G 75313 11931
Longitude: -8.3777629
Latitude: 54.056097
Description and History: This tomb is absolutely fantastic and is one the best at Carrowkeel along with cairn K. As you approach it no entrance is visible to you until you get close to the tomb when a small opening becomes visible. My first reaction was that I would never, in a million years, climb inside that tomb. The entrance is big enough to crawl into but a stone about 12 inches from this entrance makes things tricky. I unloaded myself of all bags and coats and tried to crawl in and couldn’t manage it. I tried a few times and eventually found going in feet first at an angle on my side was the best way of getting in there. If you are claustrophobic then this tomb isn’t for you. The good news is that once you get inside there is a lot more room and you can stand up at the chamber is about 7 foot tall. The chamber is polygonal in shape with three chambers leading off it. All of these are narrow and hard to get into. All have large lintels above their doorway. There is no decoration in this tomb but there are not one but two light boxes here. The first is above the entrance and the second is above the rear chamber entrance. I’m not sure if two light boxes are a feature anywhere else.
This tomb is an absolute gem and well worth the climb up to it and the hard crawl inside.
Difficulty: This one is not overly difficult but does require a certain level of fitness as it is not an easy walk and requires some hands and knees crawling.
Date of Visit: 13th November, 2010. 10th April, 2011.
For more Neolithic tombs, click here.
For more sites in Co. Sligo, click here.
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| The tiny entrance with the lightbox above. |
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| The lightbox. |
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| Inside you can really see that it's a tight squeeze. |
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| The back chamber with the second lightbox feature. |
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| Looking towards other tombs in the complex. |
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| The rear of the tomb. |
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| There are stunning vews from here. |
