MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS
OF IRELAND.COM
OF IRELAND.COM
| BROWNE'S HILL PORTAL TOMB KERNANSTOWN DOLMEN |
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| PHOTO by Pip POWELL 2007 |
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| Officially known as the Kernanstown Cromlech, the Browne’s Hill Dolmen, “Dolmain Chnoc an Bhrunaigh” in Gaelic, is a megalithic portal tomb situated 3 km east of Carlow town and is marked on both the OSI and historic maps as “Cromlech”. It is located north of the River Burren, (An Bhoirinn) a large tributary of the River Barrow to the west and faces a north easterly direction on a gentle east facing slope. The enormous granite capstone, measuring 4.7m in width, 6.1m in length, and 2m in depth and weighing an estimated 100 - 150 metric tons, is reputed to be the heaviest in Europe. It is supported by two large portal stones, a door slab, a prostrate slab and slopes to the ground away from the entrance. Another orthostat flanks the north portal stone and could be the remains of a forecourt or facade as in the earlier court tombs. There are no visible remains of a cairn or mound. It was built between 4000 and 3000 BC but there is very little additional information available because it has never been excavated and so the extent of the chamber cannot be determined. |
| CO-ORDINATES 52 50’ 15.206”N…6 52’ 52.088”W |