Antynanum: 
                Court-tomb and Standing-stones
                D 256 110
                Sheet 
                9 
                The 
                  court-tomb is perhaps the longest in all Ireland, being a 
                  massive tapering cairn of boulders up to 2 metres high and 70 
                  metres long. Two chambers of a gallery can be discerned behind 
                  the forecourt (over 12 metres wide) at the E end. This is formed 
                  by fourteen upright slabs and one fallen slab - none of them 
                  tall. One has a cup-mark reminiscent of the N court of the tomb 
                  at Ballywholan 
                  (Tyrone). Near the W end inserted into the N side is a wrecked 
                  portal-tomb with a half-door stone, which seems to have had 
                  a massive, gabled-capstone sitting on another. In front of this 
                  are the remains of a little cairn. Parallel with and several 
                  metres beyond the N kerb is a long line of stones. The surrounding 
                  area has several such, while at the top of the hill is a very 
                  large, roughly-triangular enclosure with bank and external ditch, 
                  with evidence of several structures within.
                
                ~ About 
                  500 metres WNW (D 252 112) is a good male-and-female pair of 
                  basalt stones visible from the by-road to the S. One of them 
                  is 'riddled with cracks'. A stone kist was discovered in the 
                  same field. 
                - 700 
                  metres SE of the tomb in the same townland (D 260 104, in a 
                  rushy field and visible from a track) is another charming pair 
                  of standing-stones, known as 'The Maidens'.
                
                ~ 
                  1.5 km SW in Tamybuck (D 246 099), S of a by-road, is 
                  a massive wedge-tomb somewhat eroded and tumbled on the S side 
                  by quarrying, but still retaining a large part of its cairn. 
                  The gallery-orthostats and some outer walling are visible, but 
                  the roofstones have either been removed or slid aside. 
                
                ~ 
                  Just over 2 km WNW is Ticloy "Stone House". 
                  
                 
                Altagore: 
                  Stone fort 
                  D 
                  248 348  
                  Sheet 
                  5  
                Picturesquely 
                  visible 300 metres W of the coast road from Cushendun to Ballycastle 
                  via Torr Head, about 2 km N of Cushendun, the wall of the cashel 
                  (derived from the same Latin word as castle) survives 
                  to a height of 3 metres, and the internal diameter is 15 metres. 
                  There are traces of steps leading up to remains of a terrace. 
                  
                  
                
                ~ 1.5 
                  km SW at the entrance to a caravan-site in Cushendun is a large 
                  semi-elliptical slab which is one of a former pair of standing-stones 
                  - now surrounded by ornamental plants. 
                
 
 
                
                  ~ 1.5 km S in Ballycleagh (D 248 334), close to a bungalow 
                  overlooking Cushendun Bay, two massive stones stand 5.2 metres 
                  apart, which may represent male and female. The stone nearest 
                  the laneway is 1.5 metres square.  
                
click 
                  for more  
 
                
~ 8 km SSW in Lubitavish 
                  (D 213 285) is the once well-signposted "Ossian's Grave", 
                  a small court-tomb with a three-chambered gallery about 3.5 
                  metres long, near which is a little cairn of stones marking 
                  the grave of John Hewitt, one of the dullest of the generations 
                  of dull poets writing in English since Yeats and Stevens. 
                
 
                 
                  
                   ~ 
                    650 metres SW in Cloughs is a small passage-tomb ("Cloghancor") 
                    whose capstone has been tipped into what was the original 
                    entrance, revealing the five supporting stones. From it are 
                    splendid views to Cushendall Bay to the E, while to the SW 
                    Tievebulliagh is dramatically prominent.
                  ~ 10 
                    km SSW at Tievebulliagh (D 193 268) is a neolithic 
                    axe-factory. Three small outcrops of porcellanite can be seen 
                    on the higher SE slope of this conspicuous peak. Rejects, 
                    flakes and part-finished axe-heads may still be found round 
                    about and on the hilltop - but no finished ones. It was here 
                    that the axe-heads were roughed out before being finished 
                    at the seashore at Whitepark Bay, and exported all over the 
                    British Isles. The cairn on top of Tievebulliagh is probably 
                    of Bronze Age date. 
                    3.5 
                    km ESE of Tievebulliagh on the other side of Glenballyemon 
                    is the prominent promontory-fort of Lurigethan, which 
                    overlooks the village of Glenariff.
                 
                ~ 5.2 km WNW are Ballyvennaght 
                  portal-tombs.
                   
                
                Ballygilbert: 
                  Standing-stone 
                  D 
                  334 104  
                  Sheet 
                  9 
                
click 
                  the thumbnail for a hi-res picture  
 
                
Near the top of Ballygilbert 
                  Hill (300 metres), and offering fine views over the North Channel 
                  to Scotland, close to the "Ulster Way" footpath, this small 
                  (1.5 metres high) but well-sited Cloughogan is remarkable 
                  for its unmistakeably phallic 
                  form. It is, however, nearly an hour's walk from the 
                  car-park/viewpoint to the S. 
                
~ 750 metres NE, in 
                  Lisnahay South (D 341 108, not marked on the map) is 
                  a well preserved court tomb, whose north-facing court leads 
                  into a two-chambered gallery, with two subsidiary chambers on 
                  either side of the S end. 
                
 
                
~ 1.3 
                  km SE, in Ballygawn (D 344 096, marked Chambered Grave 
                  ) is "Cloghogan", a small passage-tomb - similar to 
                  the one at Ballylumford some 11 km SE - very close to 
                  a ruined house, and once used as a pig-sty. There are solution 
                  pits on the front of the (slipped and cracked) capstone, at 
                  least one of which seems to have been enhanced by human hand. 
                  The orthostats seem to have been chosen for the interesting 
                  grooves on the internal faces. 
                
 
                
 
                 
                  
                  
                  ~ 
                    1.8 km WNW is Gowkstown (or Goakstown) wedge-tomb. 
                  
                  [~ 3.3 km SE in Ballyhackett (D 348 068) 
                    is a good example of a Viking-period souterrain 
                    set at the base of a steep rock face. It is now entered from 
                    the W side of a field wall, but the original entrance is more 
                    likely to have been on the E side of the wall. The linear 
                    arrangement of passages in the form of an F, and the frequent 
                    occurrence of creeps (very low passages), indicate that the 
                    main function of the souterrain was refuge and defence rather 
                    than storage. The total length is about 80 metres, with a 
                    total of six simple creeps as well as a 'drop-hole' creep. 
                    This type of monument is neither prehistoric nor megalithic, 
                    but is nonetheless included here. Another souterrain is listed 
                    in county Down under 
                    Drumena.]
                  
                 
                ~ 6 km 
                  due S (D 337 043), clearly visible to the E of a by-road on 
                  White Brae in Killyglen, is a fine knobbly sandstone 
                  standing-stone 2 metres high, from which there are fine views 
                  S to the beautiful contours of Agnew's Hill, and to the port 
                  of Larne. 
                
 
                 
                  
                  ~ 
                    1 km NW of the car-park and viewpoint, on a little knoll at 
                    D 323 080 in Dunteige is a roofless wedge-tomb whose 
                    rear end has been badly damaged, but which retains its double 
                    walling. To the right of the split portico at the front is 
                    a single façade stone, and behind the portico is a 
                    septal slab that blocks only one side of the entrance to the 
                    gallery, which is aligned roughly WSW towards the volcanic 
                    plug of Slemish.
                  
                  100 
                    metres N of Dunteige wedge-tomb is a boulder carved with a 
                    Clonmacnois-style Latin cross with expanded ends. The boulder 
                    was used as a Mass Rock for clandestine Catholic worship 
                    during Penal Times (1798-1830). 
                  
                 
                
                Ballylumford: 
                  Passage-tomb ?
                  D 431 016
                  Sheet 9 
                
 click 
                  for another photo
 
                  click 
                  for another photo 
                   
                
                  Near the NW tip of the peninsula of Islandmagee, near to a power-station 
                  and to Larne across the strait (by passenger ferry) this megalith 
                  squats in front of a house beside the B.90 road. It is known 
                  as "Ballylumford Dolmen", but is more likely to be 
                  the remains of a passage-less passage-tomb or even a megalithic 
                  kist than a portal-tomb. Its situation makes it not really worth 
                  a visit unless you are already near it. 
                
 
                
An engraving of the tomb in 1832, looking 
                  across the narrows to Larne Castle.
                
~ 
                  11 km WSW, between the Upper and Lower Ballyboley roads in 
                  Ballyboley (J 328 973), in an isolated thicket of thorn 
                  and holly 200 metres NW of the high-tension pylon to the SW 
                  of the famhouse at the top of the lane, are the remains of a 
                  court-tomb which retains two of its roof-stones. The front one 
                  is a fine gabled stone sitting on the orthostats immediately 
                  behind the entrance-jambs. A few court-stones survive on the 
                  E side, the outermost set into the edge of a platform of cairn 
                  material. There is a kist at the S end. The tomb was, interestingly, 
                  known as The (L)ebby within living memory -from Irish 
                  'leaba', meaning 'bed', referring to the legend of Diarmuid 
                  and Gráinne. It has been wrongly transcribed as 'The 
                  Abbey' by illiterate antiquarians, just as the tomb has been 
                  wrongly identified as 'Carndoo'. 
                
  click 
                  for more
click 
                  for more  
                
200 
                  metres N is a standing-stone known as "The King's Stone", 
                  2.5 metres high, incorporated into a field-dyke, while around 
                  180 metres SW is - or was - part of the court of Carndoo 
                  (= Carn Dúbh or 'The Black Cairn'), another court-tomb. 
                  It was here that a small inscribed stone with hatched engravings 
                  (cf Ballyrenan, Tyrone) was found in the mid-19th century. 
                
~ Just 
                  over 10 km SW, almost on the S edge of sheet 9 (J 350 952), 
                  in Ballygowan, is a handsome anthropomorphic monolith 
                  of sandstone, 1.4 metres high, incorporated into a field-wall 
                  on the S side of a track.
                  1.5 km further WSW in Castletown (J 335 943 near the 
                  top edge of Sheet 15) is the massive "Buchanan's Stone", 
                  2.2 metres high, on the crest of a ridge affording wide views. 
                  It is somewhat difficult to reach from the E side, due to unusually 
                  efficient fencing, locked gates and brambles, but is slightly 
                  easier to get to from the road to the W leading to Ballynure. 
                  
                
                
                
                Ballymacaldrack: 
                  Court-tomb 
                  D 
                  021 183  
                  Sheet 
                  8 
                
Situated 1.2 km SSE 
                  of Dunloy, Doey's Cairn has a fine and almost intact 
                  forecourt post-dating the rest of the sepulchre by some 500 
                  years and thus, perhaps, providing some evidence for the gradual 
                  development of court-tombs in Ireland. Between the large orthostats 
                  of the court, small filling-stones may be seen. The egg-shaped 
                  cairn is bounded by a kerb of low boulders, and has a single 
                  chamber facing, unusually, SW. Beyond the chamber is a passage 
                  which was used as a cremation chamber: the burnt bones of at 
                  least 5 adults were placed in one of 3 pits dug in the otherwise 
                  paved floor.  
                
click 
                  for more 
                  
                  
                   
                
~ 4.4 km WSW is 'The 
                  Broad Stone' at Craigs. 
                
~ Just over 5 km SE, 
                  crowning a little knoll just E of the road in Dromore 
                  townland (D 048 137) is a shapely, fissured standing-stone about 
                  1.2 metres high. A 
                  cross has been discerned, carved into the centre of the SE face. 
                

                  
                
                Ballyvennaght: 
                  Portal-tombs and Standing-stone 
                  D 
                  200 367  
                  Sheet 
                  5 
                
6.5 km NW of Cushendun, 
                  and 400 metres SSW of the standing-stone marked on the map known 
                  as 'Cloch na h-Uaighe' and 'Cloghacarna', a pair 
                  of portal-tombs (not marked on the map) lie about 20 metres 
                  apart, mostly below the level of the surrounding moorland which 
                  has been excavated to reveal them. The westernmost tomb (Cloughananca) 
                  is a fine example, with a large capstone about 3 metres across. 
                  and a sill-stone. One side-stone is missing. The portal stones 
                  are 1.5 metres high. Between this tomb and the second, which 
                  collapsed under the weight of its capstone - perhaps not long 
                  after, or even during, its construction - traces of the cairn 
                  which contained them both can still be seen. From here both 
                  the standing-stone in the same townland and the passage-tomb 
                  on Carnanmore (2 km NE) are visible just behind Cushleake 
                  Mountain North. 
                  These tombs are difficult 
                  to get to, and there are two routes. Either you can approach 
                  from Loughareema (The Vanishing Lake) by walking some 850 metres 
                  NW across the moor, or you can enter Ballypatrick Forest Drive 
                  (the charge for a car was £2.50 in 2003) and park at a 
                  gate (a hundred metres or so on the left) from where the standing-stone 
                  marked on the map is clearly visible, and follow the outside 
                  of the forest fence. For those with a GPS the 8-digit grid-reference 
                  is D 1998 3675. 
                  
                   
                
                  
                  
                     
                    
                      ~ 
                        About 900 metres ESE at D 209 366 (GPS: D 20928 33628) 
                        is another, smaller, portal-tomb almost buried in bog 
                        and located next to a fast flowing stream on a gentle 
                        west-facing slope. The displaced capstone is 2.1 metres 
                        across and 1.5 metres thick, and just 60 cms of the portal-stones 
                        are visible.
                      
                      ~ 
                        Some 200 metres E of the latter portal tomb, at D 207 
                        365 (GPS D 20747 36486) is yet another portal-tomb. 
                        Only 50-60 cm of the orthostats stand proud of the peat 
                        and this is only the case because the peat around the 
                        site has been cut a little. If the peat was undisturbed 
                        I am not sure if anything sould be visible at all, part 
                        from the top of the two-metre-long capstone which is slightly 
                        displaced, but still covers the chamber (nearly full of 
                        cairn rubble). The entrance faces roughly south. One very 
                        interesting thing to note about this site is that some 
                        cairn material survives just under the present ground 
                        surface in front of the entrance. This would indicate 
                        that the entrance was either blocked off at some point 
                        or that the monument originally stood within a cairn that 
                        reached at least up to its capstone. It is very rare to 
                        find a portal tomb in this state, making this a very significant 
                        monument.
                        ~ About 75m behind this tomb is a large boulder that looks 
                        as if it could be the capstone of another portal tomb
                      
                 
                    
                      ~ At D 201 371 (GPS D 20063 37114) is a Standing-stone 
                      some 2 metres high, located on the edge of a little gorge 
                      carved by several streams as they leave the bog lands to 
                      the south.
                    
 
                    
~ 
                      Included in the itinerary of Ballypatrick Forest Drive (for 
                      which there is a charge per car), and 2 km WSW of Loughareema, 
                      in Glenmakeerin townland, are the remains of a double-court 
                      tomb (D 185 350, signposted), the more northerly (three-chambered) 
                      gallery of which still retains two of its roof-stones (one 
                      of them large and displaced) and only two of its court-stones. 
                      Only one court-stone of the other (unsegmented) gallery 
                      survives. 
                    
~ 4 km NNE of 
                      the portal tomb at Cloughananca is possibly the largest 
                      passage tomb in the area at West Torr (D 213 406). 
                      The kerb is massive and 15 metres across, with some of the 
                      stones being over 2 metres in length and 1 metre high. At 
                      the centre of the monument a handful of large stones define 
                      parts of the central chamber. Some of these are over 1.5 
                      metre tall. The backstone of the chamber is heavily encrusted 
                      with quartz pebbles, and there is a solitary red stone just 
                      outside the kerb to the southeast. The site seems to stand 
                      inside the compound of what may have once been an army listening 
                      post. A weird barrack-type building stands just down the 
                      slope and the hilltop bristles with aerials. 
                      On the way up to the tomb the visitor will see a small quarry 
                      with flint nodules scattered all about: a seam of flint 
                      can clearly be seen in the rock face. Antrim is Ireland's 
                      only source of this once precious material, which was exported 
                      to Britain and Europe. 
                    
 
                    
~ 5.2 km ESE is 
                      Altagore cashel or stone 
                      fort. 
                  
~ 6 km WSW in Duncarbit 
                  (D 147 347) is a fine pair of standing-stones of distinctive 
                  shape, beautifully situated with views to the North Channel 
                  and Rathlin Island, a semi-amphitheatre of hills to the S and 
                  W, and the impressive maternal basaltic dome of Knocklayd 
                  to the N, which is, significantly, girdled by standing-stones, 
                  and dominates a wide area. The 
                  cairn on top - 'Carn-na-truagh' or Cairn of Woe, 4 
                  metres high and 20 metres in diameter - commands amazing views 
                  in all directions, including the North Antrim coast and the 
                  passage-tomb at Carnanmore, the Scottish Isle of Arran 
                  and the Mull of Kintyre. It has an abundance of white quartzite 
                  stones, and part of its boulder-kerb is visible on the W side.
                  Judging from their heights 
                  and their distance apart, the Duncarbit stones could well be 
                  one portal and one backstone of a destroyed portal-tomb. 
                
                  
                   
                  
                  Ballyvoy: 
                    Passage-tomb and Court-tomb
                    D 158 418
                    Sheet 5 
                  
Overlooking 
                    the ruined court tomb, which is built on the slopes to the 
                    southwest, three low stones in the centre of the well-preserved 
                    kerb are all that remains of the central chamber. None of 
                    these stands more than 20 cms above the grass. The kerb is 
                    almost complete, with only a few gaps. The tallest stones 
                    are around 40cms high. The whole monument is about 18 metres 
                    in diameter. To the North Rathlin Island can be seen, with 
                    Scotland's Mull of Kintyre in the distance. There are good 
                    views to the S toward the dominating mass of Knocklayd. 
                  
 
 
                  
~ 
                    1.8 km NE is the passage tomb at Cross (see under Lough-na-Cranagh). 
                  
~ 
                    1.8 km NE is the passage tomb at Cross (see under Lough-na-Cranagh).
                  
~ 
                    1.4 km SW in 
                    the graveyard of Culfeightrin parish church, Ballynaglogh 
                    (and 1.2 km W of the rustic, small Broughanlea cross-pillar 
                    in the S fence of the road, with a weathered design of a crozier 
                    and a T-cross on its E face) N of the A2, are two basalt standing-stones 
                    at D 148 408 : one (near the church door) a massive phallic 
                    pillar three metres high, and the other, at the E end of the 
                    church, presumably once even more phallic, because it has 
                    been savagely hacked. A third stone lies 5.5 metres to the 
                    NNW. 
                   
                   
                    
                    These 
                      are among a circuit of monuments which surround the impressive 
                      hill of Knocklayd.
                   
                 
                
                Beardiville: 
                  Court-tomb
                  C 907 373
                  Sheets 4 and 5 
                
Known 
                  as "Gig-ma-Gog's Grave" - which echoes the 
                  Gog-ma-gog made famous by T.C. Lethbridge - the tomb 
                  is tucked away in the corner of a field close to the road. There 
                  is very little of the court left, but the gallery is quite well 
                  preserved, albeit somewhat scruffy. There are two large capstones 
                  and some grass-covered cairn material reaches the top of the 
                  gallery orthostats. A field wall has been built across the back 
                  of the gallery, so that its length cannot be determined - but 
                  it seems to beabout 4 metres long. There are a few loose large 
                  stones in front of the gallery that were presumably from the 
                  court. The tomb is built at the base of a gentle southwest facing 
                  slope, so there is no view to the north or east; and the hedgerow 
                  that separates the tomb from the road now cuts off all the views 
                  to the south and west. 
                

                  
                
                Belfast: 
                  Court-tomb and bullaun-stone
                  J 
                  335 725  
                  Sheet 
                  15  
                
A 
                  four-chambered tomb, originally from Ballintaggart in county 
                  Armagh, with a shallow forecourt of 4 orthostats with a good 
                  part of the cairn and kerb surviving, has been re-erected on 
                  the far side of the Ulster Museum (just beyond the Queen's University 
                  and overlooking the Botanic Gardens). A good overhead view of 
                  the tomb may be had from the museum's cafeteria - though in 
                  recent years the monument has become overgrown and is now surrounded 
                  by a hideous fence.
                  
                
 
                  
                  ~ 
                    3 km NNW and mounted on a plinth outside St Matthew's Church 
                    (brick-built in an interesting neo-Romanesque style), at the 
                    top of the Shankill Road on the N side, close to Woodvale 
                    Park near the centre of the city, is a bullaun 
                    stone which was dug up from Shankill graveyard (lower down 
                    on the other side of the road) in 1855. 
                  click 
                    for more  recent photos
 
                    recent photos
                 
                 ~ 
                  4.7 km S by W of the Ulster Museum (via the Malone Road and 
                  Shaw's Bridge) is "The Giant's Ring", Ballynahatty in 
                  county Down. 
                 
                Carnanmore: 
                  Passage-tomb 
                  D 
                  218 388  
                  Sheet 
                  5  
                
A circular 
                  hilltop-cairn offering splendid views and containing a good 
                  deal of quartz 
                  (typical of passage-tombs) surrounds a rectangular, corbel-roofed 
                  chamber, approached by a short passage from the SW. What seems 
                  like a high entrance is simply a hole left when part of the 
                  chamber was removed. A basalt corbel near the capstone has faint 
                  decoration in the style of passage-tomb art, including a snake-like 
                  line, 3 horseshoe shapes and two groups of concentric circles, 
                  one of which may be a spiral. There is a ring of worn cupmarks 
                  on the top of one of the roof-stones.
                
 
                
~ 2 km SW are the 
                  portal-tombs of Ballyvennaght. 
                  
                 
                Craigarogan: 
                  Passage-tomb 
                  J 
                  270 842  
                  Sheet 
                  15  
                
Granny's 
                  Grave (which is a corruption of "Grania's Grave" which is 
                  a mistranslation of Carn Greine, Cairn of the Sun, pronounced 
                  locally as 'Carngraney') is a shamelessly-neglected and overgrown, 
                  low, megalithic passage still roofed, 9 metres long, at the 
                  SW end of which is a separate, sealed polygonal chamber which 
                  is roofed by a single stone 1.8 metres across. It seems that 
                  the tomb (now filled with earth and stones) was surrounded by 
                  a circular kerb, indicating that it is a hybrid or variant form 
                  of passage-tomb in an area where there were other passage-tombs 
                  (now destroyed) built by the intruding late-Neolithic "Beaker 
                  People" from Britain.  It resembles the "undifferentiated" 
                  passage-tombs of county Waterford.  
                   
                
 
                
                
                
~ 6.3 
                  km W by N, in a field behind a farm, and just visible from the 
                  Antrim-Templepatrick road through gaps in the hedge is Kilmakee 
                  "Stone Circle" (J 209 851), which is almost certainly 
                  the kerb of a now-depleted cairn which may have contained a 
                  tomb. The ring of some 45 basalt boulders (some smoothed by 
                  water-rolling) has been planted with trees, so that gnarled 
                  roots and trunks are growing around the stones and occupying 
                  the spaces between, except on the N side where the kerb and 
                  cairn have been removed. 
                
 
                
 
                  
                   ~ 
                    Just over 7 km NNW is the Holed Stone at Doagh.
                  
~ 
                    12 km NE is "Buchanan's Stone" at Castletown 
                    (see under Ballylumford ).
                    
                
 
                
                Craigs: 
                  Court-tomb and Passage-tomb  
                  C 
                  978 175  
                  Sheet 
                  8  
                
At a 
                  height of 200 metres on Long Mountain, this reconstructed tomb 
                  has a large capstone over the entrance and first chamber of 
                  the gallery - probably not the original. The almost semicircular 
                  forecourt faces SE. Known as The Broad Stone, it was 
                  once a popular place of assembly.   It is the 
                  subject of a 
                  poem by the Californian poet Robinson Jeffers. 
                
 
                
                 
                
                  ~ 750 metres NW is 
                  a standing-stone in a field-hedge (C 977 183), which looks (misleadingly) 
                  as if it might once have had ogam on it.
                ~ 800 metres 
                SW on the other side of the road is a charming and beautifully-sited 
                small denuded passage-tomb, whose seven close, tall uprights support 
                a flat roofstone some 2 by 1.6 metres. Two fallen stones by the 
                opening on the SW side may be remains of a short passage. 
                 
                
                
~ 4.4 
                    km ENE is the fine court-tomb at Ballymacaldrack. 
                     
                 
                
                Curramoney: 
                  Wedge-tomb 
                  D 033 379
                  Sheet 5 
                
About 
                  50 metres W of the road, the small but surprisingly intact Druid's 
                  Altar is stoutly fenced - and treated with potent weedkiller 
                  when visited in Spring 2002. One of the 4 well-chosen façade-stones 
                  is heavily (naturally ?) pocked, and there is a natural cupmark 
                  on a Northern kerbstone. At least two chamber-stones project 
                  above the cairn, some 12 metres long and largely intact. From 
                  this tomb there is a good view of cairn-topped Knocklayd 
                  to the E. 
                
 
                
                
                  ~ 5.8 
                    km N by W in Clegnagh (D 025 436) is a passageless 
                    passage-tomb with a single capstone. Half of its kerb has 
                    fallen into a quarry.
                  
                  ~ 5.3 
                    km NNW in Lemnagh Beg (D 023 433) is another similar 
                    passage-tomb.
                    ~ 700 metres N of the Passage Tomb at Lemnagh Beg, amongst 
                    the dunes overlooking the beach of Whitepark Bay (D 
                    023 440) is a low cairn surrounded by a kerb of stones with 
                    a single stone set at the centre. The exposed kerb is visible 
                    most of the way around the cairn - but not at the apparent 
                    base. This suggests that it was built upon a natural high 
                    spot, presumably rock, in the dunes. The cairn is 7 metres 
                    in diameter and over 2 metres tall.
                  
                  Whitepark 
                    Bay was one of the places that the roughed-out obsidian axes 
                    from Tievebulliagh were brought to be finished.
                  
                 
                ~ 5.8 
                  km N by E of Curraghmoney, in Magheraboy (D 037 437) 
                  is 'The Druid Stone', a simple polygonal passage-tomb 
                  in a round cairn, supporting a single, massive split-boulder 
                  capstone, with traces of a short passage on the NE side. Some 
                  14 kerbstones remain. 
                
 click 
                  to enlarge
 
                  click 
                  to enlarge
                  
                
                Doagh: 
                  Holed Stone  
                  J 
                  242 907  
                  Sheet 
                  14  
                
This fine slab, situated 
                  on a rocky outcrop to the SE of Holestone Road, 2 km WNW of 
                  Doagh village, commands wide views. A circular, chamfered hole 
                  some 10 cms in diameter at groin height was made by boring from 
                  both sides of the slab, as is usual in such monuments. In a 
                  significant degeneration of early progenerative practices lovers 
                  plighted their troth by passing a white handkerchief through 
                  the hole. This stone is echoed by another, larger slab with 
                  a similar groin-height hole, straight across the North Channel 
                  at Crows in Galloway. 
                  
                
                   click 
                    for more
 
                    click 
                    for more 
                  
                
                ~ 12 km ENE in Ballynarry 
                  (J 367 938), 50 metres from a track, is an irregularly-shaped 
                  standing-stone just over 2 metres tall. 
                
~ 2.4 
                  km SE and visible SE of the road from Parkgate to Doagh is the 
                  impressive Moyadam Standing-stone, almost 2 metres high 
                  with a curious "feminising" groove at the top.  
                
~ 7.2 km SE (on sheet 
                  15) is 'Carn Greine', Craigarogan. 
                
~ 2.4 km W (on sheet 
                  14) in Ballywee (J 218 899) is what the N.I. Sites and 
                  Monuments Record describes as "a well-preserved Early 
                  Christian settlement site enclosed by 2 arcs of low banks. Gullies 
                  running along the outer base of these banks were not defensive, 
                  but diverted surface water away from the living area. The entrance 
                  to the site was through a gap at SE. In the living area were 
                  the remains of 5 Early Christian structures, with 2 further 
                  possible structures, and 3 souterrains, the entrances to 2 of 
                  which were within buildings. Areas of cobble paving and stone 
                  kerbs were also uncovered during excavations, along with 3 hearths." 
                  The site was apparently in use as late as 1000 AD. It is listed 
                  here because the souterrains are accessible.
                

                   photo by courtesy of earlychristianireland.org 
                
~ Closer 
                  to The Holestone, at J 228 893 in the same townland of 
                  Ballywee, on the N edge of a mound, is a three-chambered souterrain 
                  with 'creeps'. 
                
~ 3.4 km W (on sheet 
                  14) in the townland of Tobergill is "The Crags", 
                  marked as a stone circle at J 208 905. All but one of the stones 
                  have been tumbled. It 
                  is probably not a circle, however, but the sad remains of a 
                  court-tomb. Between the monument and the by-road to the S is 
                  what seems to be a rare example of a surviving quarry from which 
                  the stones were hewn. 
                
 
 
                  
                
 
                
~ About 
                  5 km WNW (also on sheet 14) in Browndod, up a narrow 
                  lane to the W of the Browndod Road is a court-tomb (J 206 924) 
                  which offers fine views and consists of a clearly-defined forecourt 
                  leading to a gallery 14 metres long, segmented into 4 chambers 
                  by 3 pairs of jambs, two of 
                  which have sillstones. 
                
 
                
The tomb 
                  is set within a long trapezoidal cairn of about 30 x 15 metres, 
                  which was originally covered with earth. Before the stones were 
                  laid the builders made a foundation of red clay carried from 
                  an area a few hundred yards further downhill. During excavation 
                  pottery was found and three ritual pits which were dug very 
                  deeply, reaching below the red clay layer. Unfortunately, a 
                  rather rusty pylon now stands very close to the tomb, somewhat 
                  reducing the otherwise fine setting.
                  The 
                  tomb is the best-surviving monument of a megalithic complex 
                  which included standing-stones and other tombs, including one 
                  at J 202 923 which now consists of a horseshoe shaped façade 
                  at the NE end of a low cairn. The W side of the façade 
                  is well preserved with 7 stones surviving. The E side retains 
                  only 2 stones, with 2 fallen stones at the S end, which may 
                  have been portal-stones.
                
                
 
                  ~ 
                    Also in the same townland, at J 196 930 is the Tardree 
                    Stone, a menhir just over 2 metres high. 
                 
                ~ 9 km WSW (and 6.1 
                  km WSW of Tobergill in the townland of Steeple in the 
                  park which houses the Antrim borough council offices (J 155 
                  877), and beside a very fine example of an 11th century Round 
                  Tower (outside the scope of this gazetteer), is a large boulder 
                  with a double bullaun, 
                  probably dating from megalithic times. This makes an excellent 
                  picnic place. 
                
~ Just under 9 km 
                  NW is the roadside standing-stone at Carncome (see under 
                  Ticloy).  
                  
                 
                Galboly 
                  Lower: ?Passage-tombs
                  D 290 245
                  Sheet 9
                
500 metres 
                  S of the deserted clachan (tiny hamlet) of Galboly is 
                  a small tomb comprising a chamber formed by large basalt boulders. 
                  It is covered by a large capstone supported on E side by three 
                  large boulders and two smaller stones, and on the W side by 
                  two boulders. Traces of a roughly oval cairn lie to the N. Another 
                  small megalithic tomb lies 25 metres NE, and a possible 
                  third just below the plateau. These may all belong to the 
                  type of derivative passage-tomb typical of the Antrim coast. 
                
 
 
                
~ 
                  6.5 km WNW (on sheet 5) is Lurigethan promontory-fort 
                  (see under Altagore, above).
                  ~ 14 km SSE is Goakstown wedge-tomb (below).
                  
                
                
                Goakstown 
                  or Gowkstown: Wedge-tomb 
                  D 
                  316 107  
                  Sheet 
                  9  
                
Half-way up and to 
                  the left of a farm-lane running E of the Carncastle-Glenarm 
                  road, this fairly well-preserved wedge-tomb still has over 25 
                  stones of its kerb, some of its cairn, sill-stones, and one 
                  large roofstone in place, with others displaced. A large façade-stone 
                  stands near the entrance. A slab about 120 cms high broken - 
                  probably intentionally, to form a 'soul-hole' - at one corner, 
                  divides the rectangular portico from the main chamber. 
                
click 
                  for another photo  
 
                
 
                 
                  About 
                    150 metres SW, on the other side of the road, is a low standing-stone, 
                    but its significance seems paltry compared with the remarkable 
                    volcanic plug of Slemish which dominates a great deal of the 
                    landscape of SE Antrim. 
                 
                ~ 1.8 km ESE is the 
                  phallic standing-stone at Ballygilbert. 
                  
                 
                Lough-na-Cranagh: 
                  Crannóg 
                  D 
                  178 427 
                  Sheet 
                  5 
                
Near the summit of 
                  Fair Head, this picturesque crannóg 
                  or artificial lake-refuge is oval in shape and, unusually, contained 
                  by a dry-stone wall. Fair Head is accessible by car as far as 
                  the clachan or house-cluster to the S of the Lough where 
                  a car park is provided by the National Trust. There is a spectacular 
                  view from the top of the sheer, fissured cliffs beyond the Lough, 
                  to Rathlin Island and, visibility permitting, the Mull of Kintyre. 
                
 
                
~ About 
                  200 metres SSW in Coolanlough (D 180 422) are the ruins 
                  of a possible wedge-tomb, of which just one original stone still 
                  stands in the trapezoidal cairn, which has been augmented by 
                  field-clearance. The site is listed here because of its situation, 
                  and is indicated in the photo below by the arrowhead.
                
 
                
                  ~ 500 metres S, in Cross (D 171 430) overlooking Rathlin 
                  Island, is a passage-tomb in a round cairn some 15 metres across, 
                  comprising a central chamber of 5 basalt slabs approached from 
                  the N by a short passage. A slab within the chamber and another 
                  lying outside may be displaced roofstones. Eight stones protruding 
                  through the grass are very likely part of a peristalithic ring 
                  around the chamber some 10 metres in diameter. 
                
 
                
                  ~ 950 metres 
                  SSE of the crannóg is a ruined court-tomb in Tervillin 
                  townland, known as Cloghafadd or Long Stone. (D 182 418) 
                  Many of the court-stones, some of which are 1.5 metres high, 
                  are in situ. Some stones from the gallery remain, but 
                  not enough to estimate its dimensions. The court, some 6 metres 
                  wide and about the same deep, faces NE, and the gallery is 9 
                  metres long. It is difficult to distinguish the cairn from the 
                  knoll - but some kerb stones are visible. The 
                  tomb is situated so that Rathlin Island seems to sit on top 
                  of the intervening hills. To achieve this the tomb was built 
                  on what appears to be an artificial platform. This level area 
                  projects out from the north facing slope and is over 3 metres 
                  high at the far end. The 
                  picture below shows some of the remaining court-stones with 
                  Rathlin Island behind. 
                
 
 
                
~ 3.7 
                  km SW is the stone pair at Ballynaglogh (see under Ballyvoy).
                  
                
                  Ticloy: 
                    Portal-tomb 
                    D 
                    232 127 
                    Sheet 
                    9 
                  
In 
                    a field 8 km SW of Carnlough, "The Stone House" 
                    has been thought to be a hybrid between a court-tomb and a 
                    portal-tomb. At the E end of what was once a long cairn is 
                    a small chamber up to 1.8 metres high, roofed with 2 capstones 
                    and flanked by 5 orthostats forming a forecourt. A large slab 
                    from the tomb, now incorporated (beside a gate) in a field-wall 
                    to the SW, seems to be all that remains of a second tomb at 
                    the other end of the long cairn which also disappeared in 
                    the 19th century. 
                      
                  
 
                    
                    ~ 
                      2.5 km ESE is the huge court-tomb at Antynanum. 
                      
                        
                    
                   
                   
                    ~ 
                      12.7 km WNW in Skerry West (D 138 164), easily visible 
                      from a road-junction, is a fine standing-stone some 1.8 
                      metres high - one of several still surviving (and marked 
                      on the map) in an area previously littered with standing-stones. 
                      
                    
                    1.6 
                      km NW of it (in Scotchomerbane at D 116 175) is another 
                      - incorporated in a roadside stone wall.
                    click 
                      for more 
                   
                   
                     
                    
 
                    
 
                      600 
                        metres SSE of the Skerry West stone, adjoining a field-fence 
                        and obscured by a thorn-bush in Lisnamanny (D 131 
                        159) is a taller stone, of basalt, with a pointed top 
                        and a deep fissure running down it. At D 134 155 in the 
                        same townland is a pair of irregular basalt standing-stones 
                        on either side of a farm-track.
                      
                      ~ 
                        11.5 km WSW in Craigywarren (D 125 030) is another 
                        standing-stone (low but massive) not marked on the map.
                      
                      ~ 
                        17 km SSW in a bungalow wall in Carncome (J 168 
                        962 on the same map) is a conglomerate stone 2.1 metres 
                        high whose surface has many natural pits and hollows.
                      
                      
                     
                   
                   
                
                Tully 
                  North, Loughguile: Standing-stones
                  D 082 252 
                  Sheet 5
                
A large, 
                  pointed slab of basalt, some 2 metres high, which according 
                  to local information, was moved a short distance to the W when 
                  the road was widened, is now at the top of a hill on the W side 
                  of the Coolkeeran Road.
                
                400 metres 
                  ENE (D 086 253) is another stone, 1.4 metres high.
                ~ At 
                  Corkey North (D 081 235 and D 082 235) are another two 
                  stones, 100 metres apart, 2.7 and 2.1 metres high. 
                ~ At 
                  Ballyveely Upper (D 076 254) to the NW, is another stone 
                  set on top of Cannon Hill. It is a tall, thin slab now incorporated 
                  into a field-wall, standing at an angle of 60 degrees. When 
                  upright and unencumbered by a wall, this would have been an 
                  impressive stone.
                ~ 4 km 
                  N of the Tully North stones, in an uncultivated garden attached 
                  to the site of an old corn-mill at Magherahoney, a standing-stone, 
                  3.4 metres long, lies fallen. It is locally known as Saint 
                  Patrick !