Clonlum, County Armagh
Situated in a field to the east of a tree-lined country road below Slieve Gullion, 1/2 mile west-north-west of the village of Meigh, this late Neolithic tomb preserves much of its cairn, 35 feet in diameter and 4 feet high. Partly buried at the centre is a dolmen with a large capstone, now displaced and split in two, which when intact would have measured 9 by 5 1/2 feet. The rectangular chamber is closed at each end and has flanking portal stones 7 feet tall at the west: one of these is fallen which may have caused the capstone to collapse.
Several mature larch trees which grew on the cairn last (19th) century have been removed because of the damage their roots were inflicting. Excavation of the tomb in 1934 was disappointing in finds. As so often turns out to be the case, treasure-seekers had been there before. Clonlum may represent a transition from the truly megalithic to less elaborate forms of tomb building, ultimately the box-like cists of the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, whose economical features are perhaps recognisable here in the construction of the chamber.
Other Ancient Stones in County Armagh:
Aghmakane | Annacloghmullin | Annaghmare | Ballykeel | Ballymacdermot | Clontygora | Kilnasaggart | Slieve Gullion
Click here to buy the Appletree Press book from Amazon.co.uk. For more information click on: Ireland's Ancient Stones - A Megalithic Heritage by Kenneth McNally, published by Appletree Press.
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