Ballykeel Dolmen
Encyclopedia
Ballykeel Dolmen is a neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 tripod portal tomb and a State Care Historic Monument at the foot of the western flank of Slieve Gullion
Slieve Gullion
Slieve Gullion is a mountain in the south of County Armagh in Northern Ireland. The mountain forms the core of the Ring of Gullion and stands as the highest point in the county with an elevation of 573 metres...

, above a tributary of the Forkhill river, in the Newry and Mourne District Council
Newry and Mourne District Council
Newry and Mourne District Council is a local council in Northern Ireland. It includes much of the south of County Armagh and the south of County Down and has a population of approximately 93,400. Council headquarters are in Newry, the largest settlement and only city in the area; it has a...

 area, at grid ref: H9950 2132.

The dolmen sits at the southern end of a large cairn, of approximately 30x10 metres, the north end of which also contains a cist. Its three metre long capstone, with a notable notch similar to that of Legananny Dolmen, had previously fallen, but was re-set during excavations in 1963.

Excavations of the chamber revealed different types of pottery, including three highly decorated "Ballyalton" bowls, and the cist contained several hundred sherds of Neolithic pottery, a javelin head, and three flint flakes.
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