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Carrowkeel
Megalithic Tombs
www.megalithicireland.com/Carrowkeel%20home.htm
The Carrowkeel/Keshcorran Megalith
complex is located west of Lough Arrow just outside
the little town of Castlebaldwin and is the sight
of the largest concentration of passage tombs in Ireland.
These passage tombs (fourteen in all) are sunken burial
chambers made of large limestone slabs, topped with
huge piles (cairns) of rocks. These tombs are most
usually located high upon hills and mountains and
dot the landscape around Sligo County, forming a larger
network of ancient sites whose mysterious origin is
still largely debated.
The
Carrowkeel complex, believed to have been constructed
between 3000 and 2000 BC, remained in use until 1500
BC. The cairns, built of limestone with interior chambers
roofed with large limestone slabs, range in size from
25 to 100 feet in diameter. The site was used in Christian
times as a burial place for unbaptised children. Carrowkeel
was rapidly and very poorly excavated in 1911, often
with the use of dynamite, and each of the cairns was
assigned an identification letter.
Access is from Castlebaldwin village on the N4 and
is free of charge. The last half mile is best undertaken
on foot and good walking shoes are recommended. It
can take a good hour to climb to the mountain top
passage graves, where you will be rewarded excellent
views in all directions.
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