With icicles hanging from the van, the surveyors headed back West ahead of predicted worsening weather. The ancient Brownshill Dolmen is an impressive example of a megalithic ‘portal tomb’. There’s a car park outside and a fenced-off walkway that leads from there to the dolmen itself. What’s nice about this one is that it’s easy to get to. An enormous slab sits on two portal stones which flank a door stone and slopes downwards to the west, where it rests on a low boulder. Check prices close to Brownshill Dolmen for next weekend, Sep 30 - Oct 2. Brownshill Dolmen is a magnificent granite capstone, weighing about 103 tonnes, has excited the interest of historians and antiquarians for centuries. The megalithic portal tomb comprises two portal stones and a gate stone. Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2rio's travel planner. Built around 4,000 BCE by the first farmers in Ireland, the Brownshill Dolmen outside Carlow is the largest dolmen in Europe. Quite an experience doing a resistance survey in those conditions! On Wednesday morning, several grids of data were taken in a winter wonderland, with snow coating the ground and the dolmen, and the sun shining brightly. The Brownshill Dolmen can be found not too far outside Carlow town. Check prices close to Brownshill Dolmen for tomorrow night, Sep 26 - Sep 27. There are 2 ways to get from Galway to Brownshill dolmen by train or car.

Snow started falling soon after, and coming up to the final grid of the day, a blizzard set in.

Work had to be cut short due to the arrival of the ‘Beast from the East’! While the sun was shining during the Society’s visit, when they left so did the good weather. A small group were given a presentation on geophysical surveys, and following this assisted in collecting a portion of the resistance data in front of the dolmen. It has not been archaeologically excavated so nothing is known about it but what a sight. It was a long walk into the fields by holly bushes first and then this sleeping elephant began to appear in the distance. We started work on Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday morning members of Carlow Historical and Archaeological Society visited while work was ongoing. Brownshill Dolmen, a prehistoric portal tomb with the largest capstone in Europe - 150 tonnes. Davis)Įarthsound were commissioned to investigate the area around the monument using an earth resistance meter. Brownshill dolmen banked in snow (Photo: C.