- Goward Dolmen
Goward Dolmen is a megalithic
dolmen orcromlech situated between Hilltown andCastlewellan inCounty Down ,Northern Ireland , two miles from Hilltown. [cite web | title=Goward Dolmen | work=Megalithic Ireland | url=http://www.megalithicireland.com/Goward%20Dolmen.htm | accessdate=2007-12-11] It is in a farmer's field in thetownland of Goward, in the parish ofClonduff . It is known locally as Pat Kearney's Big Stone or Cloughmore Cromlech. The huge granite capstone has slipped from its original horizontal position. [cite web | title=Goward Dolmen in Clonduff parish | work=Ros Davies' Co. Down, Ireland Genealogy Research Site | url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/PHOTOSwords/DolmenAll.htm | accessdate=2007-12-11]Goward Dolmen portal tomb is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Goward, in the
Newry and Mourne District Council area, at grid ref: J2437 3104. [cite web | title=Goward Dolmen | work=Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments | url=http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/state_care_monuments_2007.pdf | accessdate=2007-12-11]Features
The capstone is 13ft long and 10ft wide, with an estimated weight of 50 tons and standing 14ft high overall. The capstone has shifted sideways on its supporting uprights, possibly due to the collapse of the backstone, and now overhangs the chamber on its north side. The unsegmented burial chamber is 9 feet long with an entrance on the east, flanked by orthostats which could be the remains of a crescent shaped facade.cite web | title=Goward | work=County Down - Heritage/Historical | url=http://www.countydown.com/down_heritage_down.htm | accessdate=2007-12-11] Its largest stone is the enormous capstone which has fallen sideways, revealing the megalithic chamber it once covered, in which a cremation urn and a flint arrowhead were found in 1834. Stones standing independently at the eastern side of the monument suggest that it may once have had a forecourt facade like a court-tomb. [cite web | title=Goward Dolmen | work=County Down - Heritage/Historical | url=http://www.countydown.com/down_heritage_down.htm | accessdate=2007-12-11]
Folklore
The dolmen has had a variety of names in the past, among them Finn's Finger (after the legendary giant Finn MacCool, presumably because of the tall slender upright stone at the front of the chamber; while to some it is known as Pat Kearney's Big Stone, named after the occupier of an adjacent cottage who for many years assumed the unofficial role of custodian of the monument.
References
External links
* [http://www.shadowsandstone.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=411453&format=rss200 Shadow and Stone - Goward Dolmen Photographs]
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