Another day exploring! Our camper mightn't be working but still nothing like a fry-up on a camping stove in the back of the car and the obligatory cuppa Barry's Tea, especially down by the shore of Carlingford Lough in the town of Omeath. The views across to the Mourne Mountains and Warrenpoint are just beautiful.
We had decided to not go too far, as short days in January make it difficult to travel far on a day trip before night approaches. So started our "ancient" journey by visiting Proleek dolmen, and Wedge tomb in the grounds of Ballymacscanlon hotel. This site, roughly 5000 years old is filled with legends. According to the story, a Scottish giant, Parrah Boug McShagean brought the huge Capstone under his arm and then battled Fionn MacCumhall, who poisoned the local river, thus killing the giant who, they say, is buried in the Wedge tomb. We entered the site via a small road over which bends sharply, just to end at a gate to a farm and an entrance path to the site itself. I do believe there may be a way through the hotel grounds, but Google brought us this way, both the Wedge tomb and Dolmen are right beside this entrance.
After our visit, we headed up the road to Armagh and the Killnasaggart inscribed stone. The name comes from the Irish "Cill na Saggart" which translates as the Church of the priest and is accessible by crossing over several fields, and indeed we were beginning to wonder if we'd somehow made a mistake till we spotted a little turn-style gate leading in to a small enclosed area. The standing stone is surrounded by a rings of almost hidden gravestones, flat to the earth, facing the stone and the rising son. The Stone has 13 crosses on one side and on the other an inscription which reads "This place, bequeathed by Temoc, son of Ceran Bic, under the patronage of Peter, the Apostle". It is known that Temoc died in 714CE/AD and so dating this stone to the 8th century, making it one of the earliest such monuments in the country. It is thought that there was probably a church nearby, but what is also very interesting is the situation of this site. Nowadays, it really is in the middle of farmland, literally, and indeed I would advise anyone to wear boots of some sort as the ground is very mucky in places, but in early times, this graveyard was right on one of the ancient roads of Ireland, that of Slíghe Midhluachra which ran from Tara to the north Antrim coast.
Further on, we visited Clontygora court tomb or Cluainte Gabhra, which means the meadow of the goats and believe it or not, there were two fine goats in the field opposite! Unlike similar sites, this monument faces north rather than the usual east/west, and it is quite large and impressive, the burial chamber being 11 metres. Unfortunately much of stone was taken from it in the 19th century to build the Newry canal. Also known as the King's ring, it is part of wonderful Sliabh Gullion ring in which there are at least 20 megalithic sites.
All in all a beautiful day, chilly but with blue sky, it was just perfect for exploring this ancient Irish countryside.