Measuring Time at Cloughcor Portal Tomb

6,000 years ago people living on the Maugherow Peninsula began to measure time. They were a group of Ireland's first farmers. They erected a stone monument on a prominent hill, now known as Cloughcor (the stone of the rounded hill). We consider these monuments as portal tomb graves, but this monument was used initially to pinpoint the precise day of both the spring and autumn equinox. They did this by observing the position of the sun on landscape features, in this case the Glencar Valley.

The monument is associated with one of our foundation myths, the arrival of a group of women, including the healing goddess Eabha who drowned at a local beach and is reputedly buried under the monument. Recently cup marks were discovered on one of its stones, the largest panel of prehistoric rock art discovered in County Sligo. The tomb is on the land of Leo Leydon, a farmer who has studied landscape archaeology and who over 50 years of observation has gradually pieced together the secrets of 'the stones on the rounded hill'.

No dogs allowed and please wear good footwear.