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Creevykeel Court Tomb
| Sligo - Bundoran road (N15), Drumcliffe Co. Sligo | ||
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Visitor's rating: 9 vote(s) | ||
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| More attractions in Co. Sligo. |
Even if you're not particular interested in old stones you might find the excellent preserved and partially restored Creevykeel Court Tomb very attractive.
Firstly the tomb is situated just a few meters off the main road and, in case you didn't notice the signpost, easily recognisable by the unusual large car park. So you don't have to put yourself out to get there. The downside of its accessibility is that the site can be crowded with visitors.
Secondly, and above all, by observing this court tomb one might admire the Neolithic folks who had put in great effort in undoubtedly meaningful structures. It's not inconceivable that a visit at the Creevykeel Court Tomb triggers a completely new hobby even if you were not interested in old stones.
Creevykeel Court Tomb
(authors collection)
At first sight you might not understand why we and other authors make such a fuss about the mess of stones. That's because you're approaching the tomb from its rear end. Just walk around, hence don't climb the monument, until you reach the passage.
A 4.5 meter long and one meter wide passage gives access to an oval-shaped court. By its enclosed court Creevykeel is identified as a so-called full-court tomb. Inside the court are the remains of an early Christian kiln, which also might have been used for iron melting.
Opposite the passage is the trapezoidal cairn. As with many cairns this one too was used as stone pit and in a poor condition at the time of excavation. Based on the surviving kerbstones it is estimated that the length of the original cairn was approximately 48 meters. Unfortunately the restorers have overdone their job by extending the already impressive cairn with an other 12 meters. Nevertheless the restored cairn is one of the main reasons to visit this site as it will provide a glimpse of the layout and construction of court tombs. In general the remains of court tombs are hard to read and even harder to appreciate. As such Creevykeel is an educational aid and, because especially women seem to have difficulties to translate rubble in beautiful man-made structures (no evil intended, just plain statistics), invaluable glue for a relation.
Apart from a two-chambered gallery the cairn accommodates three chambers. The entrance to the gallery is made up from a lintel supported by two jamb stones, whereas the entrances to the chambers are corridors. This is a bit of a problem because corridors are usually associated with the more modern passage tombs.
Creevykeel Court Tomb is roughly built on a west to east axis without any apparent alignment whatsoever. Obviously this observation was rather unsatisfying for rebellious elements and after crushing numbers for days someone came up with the fact that the stones used for the court are perfectly aligned with the constellation of Virgo between the autumn equinox and the summer solstice as they were in 3117 BCE. There's no doubt in our minds that you are perfectly capable to evaluate the value of this saying.
Excavations carried out in the 1930's produced several artefacts from both the New Stone Age as the Bronze Age, but as with many tombs the lack of human remains is deafening. Although the site apparently has been used over a long time only some small pieces of cremated human bones were found. Maybe it's about time to reconsider the title tomb for these monuments.
To conclude we have to relieve our feelings regarding the walling of the site. The huge tomb is stowed in a poky little enclosure with less clearance than the average electronic gadget sent to you by a mail-order firm. Whoever designed the walling for this monument probably did so in the belief that it was to be picked up by an extremely rough courier service. Please allow the visitor space to move and to experience the site in its surrounding.