Neolithic Sligo- the passage tombs of Carrowmore and Knocknarea.

Carrowmore and Knocknarea, County Sligo

One of the greatest concentrations of megalithic tombs in Ireland can be found in Sligo in the northwest of the country. These were constructed during the period known as the Neolithic or New Stone, a time which heralded the introduction of farming to these shores.
These early farmers transformed the Irish landscape in several ways. Firstly, with the creation of fields to cultivate their cereal crops and keep their livestock. Some 6000 years later, the impact of this agricultural revolution can still be seen today, as we see look out at the modern farming landscape.
The second way in which these Neolithic communities transformed the Irish landscape is through the construction of megalithic tombs, monuments that were intended to last long after they were originally constructed, so that subsequent generations would remember and celebrate their distant ancestors.
Some of the earliest megalithic tombs built in Ireland can be found at Carrowmore, on the Cúil Irra peninsula that extends into Sligo Bay.
These tombs were built between 5700 and 5200 years ago. During this period about 50 tombs were built on the Cúil Irra peninsula and the majority of these are found at Carrowmore, forming one of the largest megalithic cemeteries anywhere in Europe.
The Carrowmore tombs typically comprise a ring of boulders forming a kerb around a central burial chamber. When they have been excavated by archaeologists, the most common burial rite found has been human cremation, and the objects most frequently associated with these remains are bone and antler pins, which were probably worn by the deceased before they were cremated.
The largest tomb at Carrowmore, which presumably formed the focal point of the overall cemetery, is a large cairn of stones known as Listoghil. At the centre of this large cairn, now reconstructed, is a megalithic chamber where the main burials took place. When this was excavated in the 1990s it was found that the human burials here had not been cremated, and the dating evidence suggest that the tomb was built about 5500 years ago.
Visiting Carrowmore today, it is difficult not to be drawn to Knocknarea at the western end of Cúil Irra peninsula.
The summit of Knocknarea is not particularly high, yet its table-top profile dominates the Atlantic coastline in this region. Despite this, our Neolithic ancestors were not content with the naturally dramatic shape of the mountain. So they transformed it by constructing one of the largest monuments ever built in prehistoric Ireland.

This massive cairn of stones is nearly 60m across and 10m high. Today it is commonly called Maeve’s Cairn, called after the queen of Connaught in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. This mythical association captured the imagination of William Butler Yeats who mentions the cairn in several writings.
This cairn has never been investigated, and it is not clear if it covers a tomb containing burials of our ancestors, or if it was simply built as a memorial to honour the ruling family of the region.
However, what is clear is that the cairn was intended to send a strong message to everyone who saw it, that the people who put it here were powerful enough to change the face of the Irish landscape forever.
There are few prehistoric monuments anywhere in the world that have so dramatically altered the landscape in the same way that Maeve’s Cairn has changed the shape of Knocknarea. Today, over 5000 years later, Maeve’s Cairn still stands proud and continues to embody the ability and strength of our Neolithic ancestors who lived here.
The tombs at Carrowmore and Maeve’s Cairn on Knocknarea are National Monuments in state care, and are managed by the Office of Public Works.
We would ask visitors to Knocknarea not to climb or interfere in any way with Maeve’s Cairn. It has stood here for over 5000 years and we would like to ensure that generations to come will still have the same opportunity to admire the achievements of our Neolithic ancestors.