Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K
Early Neolithic (4000-3000 BCE)·Irish Neolithic·🇮🇪 County Sligo, Ireland
About
About Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K
Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K in County Sligo, Ireland is a Early Neolithic (4000-3000 BCE) megalithic attributed to Irish Neolithic. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal platform 8 × 2 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 54.0491N -8.3712E controls access to County Sligo resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey megalithic for County Sligo, illustrating Irish Neolithic construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Scale of population vs agricultural catchment
- 02Ritual vs domestic use
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3500 BCE
- Period
- Early Neolithic (4000-3000 BCE)
- Culture
- Irish Neolithic
- Purpose
- Collective burial and territorial marker for agro-pastoral community
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 3500 BCE
Initial construction of Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K main structure
c. 1187 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K
19th–20th century
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
54.0491° N · 8.3712° W · 292 m · 3 mapped features
- Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K — Main Megalithic Featurerock artPrimary rock art at Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K — platform mound with stratified deposits54.0502° N · 8.3720° W
- Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K — Secondary EnclosurehydraulicAncillary hydraulic at Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K — central chambered cairn with stratified deposits54.0508° N · 8.3704° W
- Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K — Outlier Rock Art PanelnecropolisOutlier necropolis panel linked to Carrowkeel Passage Tomb Cluster K ceremonial landscape54.0497° N · 8.3718° W
Gallery