LOUGH CREW
The Lough Crew Hills in Co Meath are known in Irish as Sliabh na Caillighe (The Hill of the Witch)
(On the 24.390 degree line means they are not on the Labbacallee Lines)
Sliabh na Caillíghe constitutes a Neolithic necropolis, a passage-tomb cemetery with some evidence of at least thirty tombs, the grandest concentration of such monuments in Ireland.
Labbacallee Wedge TombLoughcrew Passage Tomb Complex (Sliabh na Caillíghe)
The Lough Crew Hills in Co Meath are known in Irish as Sliabh na Caillighe (The Hill of the Witch)
(On the 24.390 degree line means they are not on the Labbacallee Lines)
Sliabh na Caillíghe constitutes a Neolithic necropolis, a passage-tomb cemetery with some evidence of at least thirty tombs, the grandest concentration of such monuments in Ireland.
Labbacallee Wedge TombLoughcrew Passage Tomb Complex (Sliabh na Caillíghe)
THE LOUGH CREW JUMPS
Legend goes that one day the hag was attempting a magical feat requiring her to drop an apronful of stones on each of the three Loughcrew peaks, jumping from one to the next. Had she succeeded, she would have ruled over all of Ireland. She was able to drop her cairns of stones on the first two peaks, but missed her mark and fell to her death on her last leap. But as a result of her efforts the three hills are crowned with a wonderful assortment of 5,000-year-old passage tombs in various states of preservation
Legend goes that one day the hag was attempting a magical feat requiring her to drop an apronful of stones on each of the three Loughcrew peaks, jumping from one to the next. Had she succeeded, she would have ruled over all of Ireland. She was able to drop her cairns of stones on the first two peaks, but missed her mark and fell to her death on her last leap. But as a result of her efforts the three hills are crowned with a wonderful assortment of 5,000-year-old passage tombs in various states of preservation
CAIRN T - THE HAG'S CAIRN
Cairn T is the principal monument of the entire Loughcrew complex, sitting on its summit, the highest point in Co. Meath. Known as “The Hag’s Cairn,” it features a treasure-trove of megalithic art on its decorated orthostats, and 360° views over 18 counties from the top of the passage tomb. In our VR tour, the view from the top of the cairn is where a hotspot connecting to Carnbane West is found.
When Conwell first excavated the tomb in 1864 he discovered evidence of human cremation: charred bones and charcoal. Cairn T serves as a focal point for the six smaller tombs clustered around it. The name for these hills, “Carnbane,” which means “white cairn,” may have stemmed from the observation, in old records, that Cairn T once had a cladding of gleaming white quartz, similar to that seen today at Newgrange, above its supporting circle of 42 kerbstones. Some have observed that progressing deeper into the tomb’s passage reveals increasingly complex megalithic art, with the most ornate decoration found on the underside of the capstone of the western recess, visible only by leaning into the space and peering upwards.29 The backstone, richly decorated and illuminated by the equinox sunrise in a 50-minute display, may be explored in two versions in the VR tour. When Conwell first entered the tomb he found it in a collapsed state:
The entrance to the passage was closed by two irregular blocks of stone, inside of which were dropped three other large blocks of stone, filling up the passage for five or six feet in length. On the outside of the entrance was placed a loose layer of lumps of quartz. All the roofing flags covering the passage, and more than two-thirds of what originally covered in the central octagonal chamber, had disappeared, leaving the passage and central chambers completely filled up with stones.30
Cairn T is the principal monument of the entire Loughcrew complex, sitting on its summit, the highest point in Co. Meath. Known as “The Hag’s Cairn,” it features a treasure-trove of megalithic art on its decorated orthostats, and 360° views over 18 counties from the top of the passage tomb. In our VR tour, the view from the top of the cairn is where a hotspot connecting to Carnbane West is found.
When Conwell first excavated the tomb in 1864 he discovered evidence of human cremation: charred bones and charcoal. Cairn T serves as a focal point for the six smaller tombs clustered around it. The name for these hills, “Carnbane,” which means “white cairn,” may have stemmed from the observation, in old records, that Cairn T once had a cladding of gleaming white quartz, similar to that seen today at Newgrange, above its supporting circle of 42 kerbstones. Some have observed that progressing deeper into the tomb’s passage reveals increasingly complex megalithic art, with the most ornate decoration found on the underside of the capstone of the western recess, visible only by leaning into the space and peering upwards.29 The backstone, richly decorated and illuminated by the equinox sunrise in a 50-minute display, may be explored in two versions in the VR tour. When Conwell first entered the tomb he found it in a collapsed state:
The entrance to the passage was closed by two irregular blocks of stone, inside of which were dropped three other large blocks of stone, filling up the passage for five or six feet in length. On the outside of the entrance was placed a loose layer of lumps of quartz. All the roofing flags covering the passage, and more than two-thirds of what originally covered in the central octagonal chamber, had disappeared, leaving the passage and central chambers completely filled up with stones.30
The mound of the Hag's Cairn is 35 m (115 ft) in diameter, with an 8.8 m (29 ft) passageway from its entrance to the backstone of its inner chamber. The passage may be explored in detail, with hotspots at four different positions. The final hotspot is at the cruciform 3 m- (10 ft-) high inner chamber with its corbelled roof and three side recesses, each with its own corbelling.
The Hag’s Chair, a kerbstone just within the northern periphery of Cairn T, is a massive block with imposing armrests carved from the stone. It is 3 m (10 ft) long and 1.8 m (6 ft) high, with an estimated weight of 10 tons. Its carvings, now much degraded, may be seen in the illustration in the gallery. Tales of An Cailleach Bhéara, suggested that she sat on this chair and looked out over her domain. Local lore states that a modern visitor, seated on the chair, will be granted a single wish.