Slieve Donard: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added
m Reverted edits by 81.101.182.111 (talk) to last version by Kiyoweap
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 38:
 
==Burial cairns==
On the summit are the remains of two prehistoric burial [[cairn]]s. The Great Cairn is at the highest point and measures about 1m high, 36.5 metres from north to south and 43m from east to west. It appears to have been a [[Neolithic]] [[passage grave|passage tomb]], dating to 3300–3000 BCEBC. It is the highest known passage tomb in Britain and Ireland.<ref name=moore3>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 3.</ref> The Lesser Cairn lies 210 metres to the northeast, overlooking Newcastle. It measures about 4.5m high, 18m from north to south, and 16m from east to west. It appears to have been an Early [[Bronze Age]] multiple-[[cist]] cairn, dating to 2300–1950 BCEBC.<ref name=moore3/> In the past, the cairns had a much more well-defined shape and it is thought the Great Cairn had an east-facing entrance leading to an inner chamber.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], pp.30-31</ref> They appear to parallel the two cairns on [[Slieve Gullion]], which can be seen from Slieve Donard.<ref>[[#Moore|Moore (2012)]], p. 29.</ref>
 
Both cairns have been badly damaged and altered over time, and modern hillwalkers often add stones on top of them.<ref name=moore3/> Irish folklore holds that it is bad luck to damage or disrespect such tombs and that deliberately doing so could bring a [[curse]].<ref>Sarah Champion & Gabriel Cooney. "Chapter 13: Naming the Places, Naming the Stones". ''Archaeology and Folklore''. Routledge, 2005. p.193</ref><ref>Doherty, Gillian. ''The Irish Ordnance Survey: History, Culture and Memory''. Four Courts Press, 2004. p.89</ref>