Cloverhill

Cloverhill Megalithic Structure

Inscribed Tomb At Cloverhill

Inscribed Tomb At Cloverhill. Drawn for Colonel Cooper by William Frederick Wakeman from a photograph. July 11th 1882.

Copyright Sligo County Library

Inscribed Tomb At Cloverhill
Copyright Sligo County Library

Inscribed Tomb At Cloverhill

Inscribed Tomb At Cloverhill. Drawn for Colonel Cooper by William Frederick Wakeman from a photograph. July 11th 1882.

Copyright Sligo County Library

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Wakeman did this colour painting, and rubbings of the art work on 11 July 1882. Since Wakeman's drawing the site has become overgrown; the chamber has filled with soil and the artwork on four of the orthostats has become more weathered.

This monument is an unusual megalith in that it does not conform to any particular type. Its proximity to the Carrowmore complex suggests an association.

Its origins and functions are unclear, but it may date to the Neolithic period (4000-2500 BC) and could be related to a passage tomb tradition, but may be later in date than other Carrowmore monuments.

Rubbing of Megalithic Art at Cloverhill

Rubbing of Megalithic Art at Cloverhill. Rubbed and Etched for Colonel Cooper by William Frederick Wakeman.

Copyright Sligo County Library

Rubbing of Megalithic Art at Cloverhill
Copyright Sligo County Library

Rubbing of Megalithic Art at Cloverhill

Rubbing of Megalithic Art at Cloverhill. Rubbed and Etched for Colonel Cooper by William Frederick Wakeman.

Copyright Sligo County Library

Enlarge image

It lacks an outer construction, but is made of a relatively small oval pit dug into the side of a gradually sloping hill, and is lined with nine slabs, each about 08m high. The chamber measures 1.8m by 1.0m.

A slightly angled stone and gap in the orthostats forms the entrance to the chamber. Antiquarians in the 19th century mention the presence of a flagged floor, a large flagstone covering the chamber and a low mound around the site, but there is no trace of any of these today.

The Sligo antiquarian, W. G. Wood-Martin, excavated the site before 1888 and did not uncover anything but does say that it had been excavated before him, and burnt bone and ancient pottery were found.
 

Three of the stones with art on them are turned into the chamber and have a curvilinear style very reminiscent of La Tene Iron Age style of art, dating to around 300 BC.

It is called La Tene after an Iron Age site found at La Tene in Switzerland, where artefacts with a distinct curvilinear art style were found in abundance.

The fourth stone with art on it is the stone facing the entrance, visible in Wakeman's painting of the monument, and this has dot and circle motifs, which have parallels to passage tomb art.