The Browneshill Dolmen, located not far from Duckett ‘s Grove, near the town of Carlow, is an impressive megalithic portal tomb dating back to approximately 3000 BCE. Renowned for its massive capstone, estimated to weigh over 100 metric tons, it is considered the largest of its kind in Europe.
I love the mystery that surrounds prehistoric monuments like this. They reflect the advanced engineering skills of Ireland's ancient inhabitants but leave a lot of questions unanswered. Like how did they move that huge capstone into place with out any machinery or even any large beasts? I asked Braino, who works in construction and is often around cranes and other machinery that lift heavy slabs of concrete and he was stumped. Archeologist believe the huge rocks were rolled along the ground on a bed of logs, but that’s just one of the theories.
The Dolmen, also known as the Browneshill Portal Tomb, consists of two large portal stones supporting the capstone, with additional stones forming the burial chamber beneath. They served not only as burial sites but also as ceremonial and ritualistic locations, reflecting the spiritual and social practices of early societies. Interestingly, there has been no excavation undertaken on the Brownshill Dolmen.
The girls wanted to go inside, under the large capstone, but I insisted they didn’t. There weren’t any signs saying not to but it seemed almost irresponsible to let your kids play inside an ancient portal. My friend Kayleen pointed out via instagram that in the show Outlander, the main character is transported back in time by entering a Scottish Portal Tomb. I haven’t seen the show but I guess time travel and teleportation seem to go hand in hand with a portal tomb and I wasn’t going to risk it 🤣.
The Brownshill Dolmen was situated in a farmers field, but there is a small dedicated carpark and signage, with a path leading out to the dolmen. It was free of charge and unattended by any staff. As we were leaving a father and son came to throw a ball around for their dog, so it isn’t a particularly popular tourist attraction, only people with weird niche interests like me would put it in their itinerary. But in saying that I would like to visit other dolmens, standing stones and stone circle while we’re here in Ireland.
