Slieve Gullion, County Armagh
The unmistakable hump of Slieve Gullion rises high in the middle of a volcanic ring dyke 5 miles south-west of Newry. On its exposed heathery summit, at 1894 feet, is the highest situated passage tomb in the British Isles, excavated in 1961 but known to have been ransacked long before. In folklore it is called 'Calliagh Birra's House', the abode of the Celtic Witch-goddess.
A circular cairn with a diameter of about 100 feet is retained by a kerb of enormous stones which, contrary to the usual manner of passage tomb construction in Ireland, are laid with their broad faces flat to the ground rather than upstanding. A lintelled passage, reduced by collapse to 15 feet in length, leads to an octagonal chamber built of dry-walling which supports a corbelled roof, now largely destroyed. An alcove or auxiliary chamber opening off the north-east side of the main chamber may have had special significance since it is given prominence by a pair of flanking orthostats. Three roughly fashioned stone basins were found in the tomb, but neither they nor any of the chamber or kerb stones have decoration.
Other Ancient Stones in County Armagh:
Aghmakane | Annacloghmullin | Annaghmare | Ballykeel | Ballymacdermot | Clonlum | Clontygora | Kilnasaggart
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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