Ireland is famous for its huge number of ancient monuments of nature preserved to this day, most of which are shrouded in a veil of mystery and mysticism. Carrowmore is one such place. It is an ancient sanctuary; a tomb in which the bodies of the natives were recognized as eternal, special rites were performed over the dead before burial, and some were cremated. A total of four such tombs have been found in the country - Bru-na-Boin, Lochcrue, Carrowkill and Carrowmore, which is considered the largest: thousands of tourists come here every year to see this megalithic structure with their own eyes.
What are corridor tombs?
The term "corridor tombs" is a literal translation of the English term coined by archaeologists Sean O'Nolan and Ruiri de Valera. It refers to tombs of a special type that are corridor-like or have a cruciform layout. The tombs are built so that on one day of the year - the summer solstice, for example - they allow the sunlight to enter completely.
History of the Carrowmore Sanctuary
The structure consists of thirty tombs, each created at different times - this conclusion was made by radiocarbon analysis of the stones. It showed that the oldest tomb is seven thousand years old, the others are four or five thousand years old, dating back to the Neolithic period. There is speculation that there were more graves, but some of them have disappeared as a result of clearing the field in the XVIII-XX centuries.
The sanctuary is located on a small plateau at an altitude of 36.5-59 meters above sea level. The location of the tombs is interesting: they all surrounded the tallest and widest, Listogil, which is 34 meters in diameter, while the others are 12-15 meters.
How was Carrowmore buried?
The burial in this sanctuary, according to scholars, had a number of peculiarities:
- Most of the bodies were cremated: urns with ashes were found in all 30 surviving tombs.
- The bodies buried in the largest tomb, Listogila, underwent inhumation: before burial, the bones were separated from the flesh, treated in a special way and only then buried.
Interesting Facts
- According to ancient Irish tradition, clay balls, stones, needles of antlers, and shells were placed in the tomb with the remains.
- Some of the tombs were rebuilt and reused over time.
- The roofs of all the tombs are stone slabs laid horizontally. The roof of the Listogila is a gneiss slab, stacked in the shape of a mountain.
- There are preserved drawings by Gobriel Beranger in which he depicted Carromore in 1779.
- There is a Tourist Center on the territory of the reserve, where you can buy an entrance ticket and rent an audio guide in different languages.
