Carrowmore (Irish: Ceathrú Mór, meaning Great Quarter) is the site of a prehistoric ritual landscape on the Knocknarea or Cúil Irra Peninsula in County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ... Knocknarea (Knock na Ré in Irish) dominates the landscape to the West of Sligo. ... Statistics Province: Connacht County Town: Sligo Code: SO Area: 1,836 km² Population (2006) 60,863 Website: www. ...

Around 30 megalithic tombs can be seen in Carrowmore today, and the traces of more (ruined) tombs have been detected. The tombs (in their original state) were almost universally 'dolmen circles'; small dolmens with boulder circles of 12 to 15 meters around them. The tombs are distributed in a roughly oval shape surrounding the largest monument, a cairn called Listoghil. The dolmen 'entrances' - crude double rows of standing stones - usually face the area of the central tomb. Large T shaped Hunebed D27 in Borger-Odoorn, Netherlands. ... For the magazine see Cairn Magazine. ... Listoghil is the name of the large central monument in the Carrowmore group of prehistoric tombs in County Sligo in Ireland. ...

Tomb 7 at Carrowmore, a burial chamber within a stone circle

Reconstruction of the central tomb (Listoghil or Tomb 51) at Carrowmore in progress, June 2006

Radiocarbon dates from the long-running survey and excavation project run by Stockholm University has caused controversy amongst archaeologists, particularly dates which put the earliest tombs at 5,400 BC, placing them before the (perceived) advent of agriculture in Ireland. Objections included 'old wood' theories, and simply inadequate numbers of dates. The idea of Mesolithic tomb builders is still advocated by Professor Göran Bürenhult, who excavated Carrowmore, although this runs in the face of the prevailing view, which generally associates Neolithic farming societies with megalithic sites. Supporters of the early dates sometimes point to similarly ancient dates attributed to chamber tombs in Brittany where Mesolithic microliths have been found in association with at least one passage grave, and some other very early dates in the Sligo area. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 135 KB)One of the Carrowmore tombs in Ireland. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 135 KB)One of the Carrowmore tombs in Ireland. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Radiocarbon dating is the use of the naturally occurring isotope of carbon-14 in radiometric dating to determine the age of organic materials, up to ca. ... Stockholm University (Stockholms universitet) is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. ... The ‘old wood effect or old wood problem is a pitfall encountered in the archaeological technique of Carbon 14 dating. ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age[1]) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... Brittany has an expansive coastline Historical province of Brittany Flag of Brittany (Gwenn-ha-du) région of Bretagne, see Bretagne. ... A microlith is a small stone tool, typically knapped of flint or chert, usually about three centimetres long or less. ... A passage tomb near the town of Sligo in Ireland A Passage grave (sometimes hyphenated) or Passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic, where the burial chamber is reached along a distinct, and usually low, passage. ...

Perhaps the key point is that Bürenhults work and the work of later researchers places the bulk of the megalith building in Carrowmore at between 4300 and 3500 BC, more in keeping with Neolithic dating but still unusually early. It also upturned the idea that famous Irish prehistoric sites such as Knowth and Newgrange were the earliest in Ireland. Excavation of other tombs in the Cuil Irra area has indicated that although they employed different architectural styles, many co-existed contemporaneously with Carrowmore. Recent archaeology by the National Roads Authority for the Inner Relief Road route in Magheraboy near Sligo has shown that a huge causewayed enclosure existed at the same time as Carrowmore. The fact that Listoghil (The Central Tomb, aka. Tomb 51) has dates of about 3600 BC and some indication of earlier activity close by has triggered speculation as to what originally existed at this elevated and central (and perhaps sacred) location. Knowth is the site of a neolithic passage grave, one of the ancient monuments of the Brú na Bóinne complex in the valley of the River Boyne in Ireland. ... Newgrange, which is located at , is one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. ... The National Roads Authority (NRA) (Irish: An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) is a State body in the Republic of Ireland, responsible for the national road network. ... Causewayed enclosures are a type of large prehistoric earthworks common to the early Neolithic Europe. ... Listoghil is the name of the large central monument in the Carrowmore group of prehistoric tombs in County Sligo in Ireland. ...

There has long been debate about how the different tomb types - 'passage tombs', 'court tombs', 'portal dolmens,' and 'wedge tombs' - all of which occur in County Sligo - should be interpreted. Are they indicative of different 'cultures,' or peoples? Of different functions for a single community? Perhaps research into DNA or other techniques of the future will finally resolve these questions. A passage tomb near the town of Sligo in Ireland A Passage grave (sometimes hyphenated) or Passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic, where the burial chamber is reached along a distinct, and usually low, passage. ... The Court cairn is a variety of megalithic chamber tomb found in south west Scotland and central and northern Ireland. ... A Portal dolmen or Portal tomb is a type of Neolithic chamber tomb. ... Glantane east Wedge Tomb, County Cork, Ireland A wedge-shaped gallery grave or wedge tomb is a type of Irish chamber tomb. ...

Houses of the dead - or something more?

Almost all the burials at Carrowmore were cremations with inhumations being only found at Listoghil. Even from the cremated remains it is apparent that the dead underwent a complex sequence of treatments, including excarnation and reburial. Grave goods include antler pins with mushroom-shaped heads and stone or clay balls, a fairly typical assemblage of the Irish element of the passage tomb tradition. Some of the tombs and pits nearby contained shells from shellfish, echoing the finds of shell middens along the coast of Cuil Irra. The Carrowmore tombs were sometimes re-used and re-shaped by the people of Bronze Age and Iron Age times. They remained focal points on the landscape for long after they were built. The role of megaliths as monuments and foci of ceremony and celebration, as well as markers on the landscape is emphasised by archaeologists such as Richard Bradley. Earlier commentaters - who called the monuments 'tombs' - saw them simply as a repository for the dead, or as markers erected over fallen warriors. The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... In archaeology and anthropology the term excarnation refers to the burial practice adopted by some societies of removing the flesh of the dead, leaving only the bones. ... In archaeology and anthropology grave goods are the items interred along with the body. ... An assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context. ... A passage tomb near the town of Sligo in Ireland A Passage grave (sometimes hyphenated) or Passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic, where the burial chamber is reached along a distinct, and usually low, passage. ... Pit can refer to the following things: Any high walled depression in the ground. ... A midden, also known as kitchen middens, is a dump for domestic waste. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Richard Bradley may refer to: Richard Bradley (botanist) Richard Bradley (archaeologist) etc. ...

Among the antiquarians associated with Carrowmore are Beranger and Wood-Martin. The sites were surveyed by George Petrie in 1837, who numbered them all. George Petrie (1790 – 1866), was an Irish painter, antiquary and archaeologist of the Victorian era. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The small Carrowmore dolmens are unlikely to have ever been covered with stone cairns. Although such ideas were once popular among antiquarians, the discovery of 'settings' of stone and finds close to the chambers, of Viking, Roman and Bronze Age artefacts make it seem unlikely that such cairns ever existed. One tomb, Tomb 27, has a cruciform passage tomb shape, a feature seen in later tombs like Newgrange or Carrowkeel. The roof - now gone - may have been of stone slabs or corbelled. Cairns such as Listoghil or Queen Maeves tomb (on Knocknarea) or Newgrange may represent a new phase of megalith-building of greater scale and ambition, probably requiring the involvement of more workers and greater organisation. One notable feature of cairns are kerbs. A boulder circle surrounds the tomb, determines its girth, and contains the mound of stones. In the instance of Newgrange, the kerb stones are elaborately decorated with petroglyphs. Listoghil has a kerb of wonderfully twisted and tortured gneiss boulders, which glitter because of their high quartz content. These are punctuated by occasional 'marker' stones. Such a large limestone 'marker' to the west had deposits of cremated human and animal bone placed behind it. For the magazine see Cairn Magazine. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Newgrange, which is located at , is one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. ... Carrowkeel is the name of the Neolithic passage tomb cemetery in the south of County Sligo. ... Elaborately decorated classical-style stone corbels support balconies on a building in Indianapolis. ... Knocknarea (Knock na Ré in Irish) dominates the landscape to the West of Sligo. ... // In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. ... Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland Petroglyph on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument Petroglyphs from Scandinavia (Häljesta, Västmanland in Sweden). ... Gneiss Gneiss (IPA: ) is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. ... Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earths continental crust. ...

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