Mrs. Ancient Dan’s response to my Facebook share of the previous POTD post (about dolmens in Jordan) is a reminder that most people have seen dolmens in Ireland or other parts of NW Europe rather than Jordan. So, to continue the dolmen theme—and to get an Ireland location on the POTD Map—I will add a couple of posts on dolmens there. This one is an underappreciated gem; the Ballykeel Dolmen.
Ballykeel Dolmen is off the beaten path (making it a “You Don’t Get This on the Bus Tour” listing), nestled between some residences outside of Newry, Northern Ireland. The site is protected and fenced with a gate an explanatory sign (more portable than intended on our visit), but it is underappreciated and visited only by those that know they want to go there.[1]
The dolmen lies at the east end of a cairn (pile of stones and dirt) that was built up to and around it in antiquity. It proved a pleasant spot for a sunset picnic dinner in May 2016 with a former student (then studying at Trinity College, Dublin). Takeaway fish and chips (from Fiships in Camlough, Newry) hit the spot!
Unlike middle eastern dolmens, which are almost universally “trilithions” made from two parallel vertical slabs and another spanning their tops, Ballykeel and many other so-called “portal tombs” in Ireland have a tripod of megaliths supporting the roof slab with one pair of supports forming the entrance “portal.”
If you ever visit Ireland, do it with a car. That way you can find and enjoy great out-of-the-way and mysterious sites like Ballykeel Dolmen.
Next up: dolmens [sic] you might get on the bus tour!
Thanks for looking! 
[1] BTW, a great place to find megalithic and other ancient sites to visit wherever you may travel is the Megalithic Portal; here is their page for Ballykeel Dolmen as an example.
Go to MAP of all Pic Of The Day locations!
A.D. 
2 thoughts on “Pic of the Day 2019-01-12: Balykeel Dolmen (you also don’t get this on the bus tour)”