I didn't get across to this magnificent looking cairn today, but the lack of fog at least allowed a view of it from cairn K. It looks amazing, sited on the end of a rocky promontory overlooking the valley below.
All Sites Visited On 16th March 2003 « Previous Site Next Site »
For me this is probably the best monument on the site. Unlike the other tombs here this one is not in a round cairn, but in a long cairn. The north end has a cruciform chamber set into it and teh side chambers still have their roofstones. The passage is very short and divided by low sill stones.
Sitting against the backstone of the passage you can clearly see that it is pointing directly at Maeve's Cairn (County Sligo). When you stand on top of the cairn towards the rear and look along it towards Knocknarea you notice that it doesn't point at it - the passage is not aligned with the main axis of its cairn.
At the rear of the cairn is one of the reasons why this monument is classified as a court tomb, but it isn't! The feature is a recess formed by huge slabs. This does resemble a court of sorts, but it doesn't lead to a gallery - it is a dead-end. There is a small sub-chamber just behind it, but it's not related.
This recess is more reminscient of English long barrows, such as Belas Knap which has the same sort of feature. Because these tombs resemble a figure when viewed from above they have odten been said to represent the ever-present Mother Goddess.
This false entrance, the passage tomb at the far end and the evidence of a flat faÁade make this more related to the English long barrow tradition than anything in Ireland. The court tomb classification only came about because it was ascribed by Irish-centric archaeologists, who like so many in that profession think in very insular terms.
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_A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Broughderg (Co. Tyrone) |  Ballyganner North (Co. Clare) |  Tawnymanus (Co. Leitrim) |
 Rosdoagh (Co. Mayo) |  Carrowreagh (Co. Sligo) |  Kilclooney More (Co. Donegal) |
