Carrowmore

Carrowmore (Irish An Cheathrú Mhór "the great quarter " ) in County Sligo is the most concentrated (mostly in orderly rows ) accumulation of megalithic sites in Ireland. Most of the better-preserved 25 plants, more than 80 of the past (some say over 200) are located on an area of ​​more than three square kilometers near the access road.

They consist mainly of small passage tombs and dolmens. A few still have the circle of curbs, as they probably were originally under a cairn. The facilities are older than Newgrange and belong to the beginning of the Irish megalithic ( circa 3850 BC). The largest plant of the area (No. 51) is the excavated under a cairn Listoghil, a passage tomb with rock carvings. The System No. 7 - according to the numbering by G. Petrie of 1837 - has some similarity with the Danish Runddysse Poskær Stenhus in Jutland.

Dating problems

In Western Europe, some megalithic sites appear very early (some even spoke of Mesolithikern ) to have been built. There are for Barnenez and Ile Guennoc in Brittany, for Bougon at Poitiers and Cha da Parada in northwest Portugal radiocarbon dates from the late 6th and early 5th millennium BC In Brittany were on the Île d' Hœdic and at Téviec in Morbihan stone structures with cremated remains at about 5200 BC dated and classified as Mesolithic. In Dissignac in the Loire -Atlantique Mesolithic microliths ( flint tools ) were found in a tomb passage. Early data provided apparently the plants on the Isles of Scilly. However, all these data can not be classified chronologically and must be faulty.

The System No. 27 of Carrowmore is a passage tomb with a cruciform chamber. She is one of the greatest monuments of Carrowmore. Here, the arrangement of Dowth ( at Newgrange ) is anticipated with four central pillars. The construction date ( 3825 BC) may, however, like that of plants No. 1, 4, 7 and 51 hardly be correct. New C-14 datings revise the older data, at least for Listoghil.

Others

In the area there are also some ring forts and standing stones. The Cuir - Irra, ( Irish: Choch Bhreac - the gray or speckled stone ) is a stone hole, the boundary point of three parishes marked later. He has a rectangular hole of 90 cm x 60 cm. Nearby is the Knock Area, a 350 m high natural hill, is, among other information, a huge stone hill, which is known as Queen Maeve 's Grave. For grounds of Carrowmore heard an open in the summer existing since 1990 Visitor Centre.

This area should not be confused with the similarly unique archaeological Carrowmore Lake in County Mayo.