Listoghil

Listoghil is the large central monument in the Carrowmore group of prehistoric tombs in County Sligo in Ireland. It was numbered as "Carrowmore 51" by George Petrie in 1837 and this designation is still used. According to Petrie (Letter to Larcom, Aug. 1837), the name may mean 'Ryefort' (it appears as Lios a tSeagail, seagail meaning rye in Irish, in early maps).

Listoghil is surrounded by a crude oval of chamber tombs (or 'dolmen circles') concentrated on the eastern end of the Cuil Irra Peninsula but is much different from these other structures, which it overlooks. It was partly excavated by Goran Burenhult and his Swedish team between 1996 and 1998 after quarrying had left it unstable. Petrie speculated that the monument was originally 40 or convert|50|ft|m high. He was assuming that a now-absent outer boulder circle functioned as a kerb. Recent research has tended to assume that the cairn covered only the inner circle. If so, it may have been up to convert|15|ft|m high; Queen Maeve's tomb close by, on Knocknarea, has twice the diameter, and stands at about 10 m. A further complication is that Burenhults excavation yielded evidence of a third, inner kerb, although this appeared incomplete.

Although the district of Knocknarea, Cuil Irra, Cailleach a Vera, etc., is steeped in legend, Listoghil has never been satisfactorily connected with the ancient legends in the way that say, Newgrange has. Writings by Charles Elcock from the 1880s describe workmen removing the stones for 'road metal' and perhaps building field walls. Only when quarrymen uncovered the tomb chamber in the middle of the mound did its destruction end. Antiquarians in the 1800s made references to another cairn nearby at Leacharail, but the site of this has never been located.

Excavation and Restoration

By the end of the nineteenth century the tomb had been investigated by antiquarians of the period who recorded finding 'bones of horses', charred wood and a stone spearhead. Some materials from this tomb are in the Alnwick Castle collection. After the dig by professor Burenhult in the late 1990s the tomb was restored by the Office of Public Works. The tomb now consists of a 4 m tall, 34 m diameter cairn (the diameter of which was determined by the extent of a kerb of 101 large stones which, despite much interference, had survived in situ). Access to the central chamber - via a 13 m artificial avenue of gabions - is possible. The chamber at the heart of the mound is a dolmen-like structure, with 6 orthostats. A single limestone slab - tilted at a slight angle - crowns the chamber. A rare example of Irish megalithic art outside of the Boyne valley consisting of concentric circular carvings can be seen on the front side of the roof slab (this is visible only in certain lighting conditions), whilst a symbol described by Julian Cope as 'a strangely distorted tryfuss' has been carved on a stone inside.

Listoghil was constructed some time between 3640 and 3380 BC, meaning it was constructed towards the end of megalithic activity at Carrowmore despite its central position. The human bones found there were a mixture of cremated, and un-cremated bones; the older, smaller tombs around it generally contain burnt bones. Evidence of some earlier activity on the site - carbon material calibrated to around 6100 years ago - was found by the Swedish archaeologist who excavated Listoghil. This was discovered in the context of an area of 'massive stone packing', set on the earthen platform on which Listoghil is constructed, outside the kerb, to the south of the tomb. Extensive burning took place on the area of the site before the tomb was erected.

ources

* "Tombs for Hunters", Burenhult, G, British Archaeology 82, 2005, pp22-27
* "The Megalithic European", Cope, J, Harper Collins, London, 2004
* "Letter from Petrie to Larcom, Aug 12 1837". Ordnance Survey Letters, Royal Irish Academy, Shelf Mark 14 F 14 No 45