Carrowmore 48

Monument 48 at Carrowmore is a large rough capstone covering a burial chamber. The circle is long gone; a stone which stood nearby until 1985 may have been a part of the original stone circle. This is one of the very few monuments at Carrowmore from which there is now view to Listoghil: the huge central cairn is hidden from view by a low ridge. There are incredible views towards the monuments in the Ballgawley mountains to the southeast and Queen Maeve's cairn and Knocknarea to the west. Circle 49 is about 100 meters to the west, and the two monuments could loosely be described as a pair. Petrie's and Wood-Martin's reports are given below.

Circle Number 48:

Situated in the northeast angle of the great field mentioned above. (This and the ones which follow up to No. 59 inclusive are in the lands of Carrowmore.) "Of this circle, which appears to have been of great size, only one stone remains, but its cromleac is perfect. It consists of supporting stones and one covering-stone, which is 6 feet in length and breadth. The remaining stone of the circle is about 5 feet in height, and is 38 feet from the cromleac, which would give a diameter of at least 76 feet to the circle in its perfect state."

- Petrie.

The covering-stone is slightly displaced. The chamber is beneath the surface level, and, without removing the table stone, could be partially excavated. The internment was (found to be) greatly disturbed. fragments of bone, and two pieces of charcoal. The contents were twenty-seven fragments of bone, and two pieces of charcoal. Some of the bones were certainly animal (as a vertebra, piece of the frontal bone, and two teeth); others doubtful.

--Wood-Martin.

As Wood-Martin notes above, the capstone of the dolmen has been levered partly off the chamber it covers. It is not difficult to imagine the local antiquarian and tomb raider, Roger Walker out directing some of his henchmen as they levered the capstone aside to rummage in the chamber, probably in the late 1830's.