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Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery

MegalithicEurope

One of the oldest and largest megalithic cemeteries in Ireland and Europe — over thirty surviving dolmens and passage tombs across a 1 km² area of the Cúil Irra peninsula in County Sligo. Radiocarbon dates from Carrowmore Tomb 4 have returned ages as early as 5,400 BP (c. 4400 BCE), making the earliest tombs at Carrowmore older than Newgrange and contemporary with the oldest megalithic activity anywhere in western Europe. The central cairn Listoghil is aligned with the Halloween (Samhain) sunrise over Knocknarea. Hugh Newman covers Carrowmore as a key reference for the western-Atlantic megalithic chronology.

54.2522°, -8.5181°

Look Closer — this site carries open questions: dating rests on thin stratigraphic evidence; stones heavier than the period's tools could lift.
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Walkthrough videos (1)

The 7,000 Year Old Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery in Ancient IrelandThe 7,000 Year Old Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery in Ancient IrelandHugh Newman / Megalithomania

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