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Carrowkeel

Carrowkeel - page 2

Cairn A

Cairns C & D

Cairn E

Cairn F

Sections of Cairn F

More sections from F

Cairn G

Section of Cairn G

Astronomy at Cairn G

More astronomy

Cairn H

Sections & plans

Cairn K section

Panorama from K

Panorama page 2

Cairn L

Cairns M & N

Cairns O & P

Doonaveeragh

Treanmacmurtagh

 

Cairnanweeleen

The Caves of Kesh

Kesh Corran

Kesh Mythology

Kesh Cairn

Cairn K

Cairn K is located on the highest part of Carrowkeel Mountain, about 300 meters south of Cairns H and G. This monument, along with Cairns B and G is the most intact structure at Carrowkeel and is an excellent early example of the classic cruciform corbelled chamber design. The monument a good example of how the other cairns would have looked originally. It has a diameter of 21 meters and is about 6 meters high, and is surrounded by a layer of bog which has covered any kerbstones which might surround the base of the cairn.

Up until a few years ago there was a lot of white quartz around the north face and entrance of the cairn, but most has been removed by visitors, probably for souviners. This quartz would have been used to cover all of the cairns - see Newgrange for an example. And this is probably how the mountains got their name - for Breac Sliabh means Speckled Mountain, and anyone standing on Knocknarea or any of the peaks of the Ox Mountains would have seen a collection of monuments in Carrowkeel glittering in the light of the sun or moon. This quartz would have been quarried in the Ox Mountains, probably in the area around Croghan Cairn which is rich in quartz. The Ox Mountains are said to be the oldest mountain range in Europe.

To enter the inner sanctum requires crawling through the small square entrance. The passage is 7 meters long and leads into a cruciform chamber with a beautiful corbelled ceiling 3 meters high. Although the lintels over the three recesses are cracked, the structure is sound and the interior dry if somewhat damp - the stones 'sweat' when it is very warm outside. As mentioned there are three recesses off the chamber.

Carrowkeel on the last night of the old Millennium: Croagh Patrick Stone, right-hand recess of Cairn K with a millennium Candle.

In the back of the right-hand recess is a triangular shaped stone with a pointed top which is known as the Croagh Patrick Stone, due to its resemblance to the Reek. Croagh Patrick is clearly visible on a good day, about 75 miles away to the west south-west, and on two days of the year, Samhain and Imbolc, the sun when viewed from Cairn K, drops behind the Reek. The Cairn, Cairn L and the stone box mentioned below are all on this 'Croagh Patrick axis' which extends across to Moytura in the other direction.

The passage and axis of the chamber is oriented to Queen Maeve's Cairn on the summit of Knocknarea, as are Cairns E, G and B. At about 15° west of north, the chamber is oriented much too far north for the sun to ever have shone into the chamber. It is also further north than the midwinter moonsets discussed on the Cairn G page, and may be oriented to the setting of a particular star. The main cairn at Fourknocks is oriented to the rising of this celestial event.

Macalister & Praeger's plan and section of Cairn K.

Interestingly enough, the summits of both Maeve's Cairn and Cairn K are at the same altitude - a design fact that would greatly assist observation of the standstill. Also, Maeve's Cairn is the same distance from Cairn K as her palace at Rathcroghan to the south of here.

The items found during the excavation of Cairn K in 1911 were typical of the finds in the other cairns: pieces of the Neolithic pottery, known as Carrowkeel Ware since that time; cremated human remains, chalk balls, antler pins and pendants.

Some of the finds from Cairn K by Macalister & company in 1911.

A few meters to the east of Cairn K is a small stone box or cist, originally covered with a stone slab, which was smashed by 'rabbit hunters' in the last century. It has been suggested that this structure had an esoteric purpose - to prepare candidates for initiation by interring them in the box for a night, perhaps on a festival or full moon. This type of ritual was practised by many ancient cultures, including the Egyptians.

Cairn L

Cairn L is an unexcavated structure a few meters to the west of Cairn K, with no visible remains of a passage. There are a few slabs of limestone visible in the cairn which suggest the presence of of some form of chamber or cist. The cairn is covered with peat, so the actual size is difficult to make out, but a diameter of 19 meters and height of 5 meters has been recorded, which makes it nearly as big as Cairn K. This is the natural highest point of the mountain, though the top of Cairn K is higher.