archaeological sligo

Occupying a commanding hill-top overlooking islanded Lough Gill to the south and pretty Colgagh Lake to the west, this large and imposing monument is perhaps the best example of a centre court-tomb in the country. Its traditional name, by which it is still known hereabouts, is Leacht Con Mhic Ruis. The oval court, 50 feet in length with an entrance on the south side, has two segmented galleries at its east end and one at the west. In the last century all three galleries had large lintel stones...

Take the Collooney-Sligo road to the second signpost left for Lavagh and the Ox Mountains Drive. As you approach this turn the distinctive shape of Knock-Na-Shee looms up before you. Recent aerial photography of the mountain has revealed contours which suggest that one of the biggest Stone Age burial grounds in Europe lies beneath the surface of this "Hill of the Fairies", - the English translation of the Irish name. There is a pitch and putt course to your left before you turn for Lavagh....

Distributed over many acres and extending into adjoining townlands, Carrowmore represents the largest grouping of megalithic monuments in Ireland, and immense Neolithic burial ground where once there may have been more than a hundred tombs. Casual exploration in the last century and present day gravel quarrying in the vicinity have devalued the archaeological potential of the site; but it is still a rewarding place to visit, steeped in atmosphere and evoking a sense of the past.
The s...