Browneshill Megalithic Tomb

Known as the ‘Browneshill dolmen’, because it is sited on a hill on which sits the former estate house of the Browne family, the remains of this megalithic tomb are well-preserved and the chamber faces down slope to the east. It consists of a massive granite roofstone resting on two upright portal stones with a ‘doorstone’ between them. A fourth stone stands beside them and may indicate the remains of some form of facade. The west end of the roofstone rests on a prostrate stone which could be interpreted as a collapsed backstone. There is no visible trace of a surrounding mound around the structure and the interior ground level of the chamber area is slightly lower than the surrounding field surface. The roofstone is exceptionally large measuring just over 6 metres long by almost 4.50 metres wide and 2 metres thick: it is estimated to weigh at least 100 tons. The monument dates to between 4000 and 3000 BC and was built by the earliest farming communities to inhabit the island of Ireland. Please note that many of these monuments may be on private land and may not be publicly accessible.