Tag: Dolmen

Ballykeel Dolmen

Ballykeel dolmen dates back around 5,500 years to 3,500 BC! It’s a great example of a tripod dolmen (or portal tomb) and is of the same type as the Legananny Dolmen (that can be seen on our Slieve Croob Whodunit Hunt in County Down) which is only a mile or two from Slieve Croob mountain.

Ballykeel Dolmen was only excavated in 1965 and had to be partially re-erected during excavations in 1965 that had begun two years earlier because the large capstone on top had fallen. Those investigations indicated that the tomb had been previously disturbed and, likely, some items taken – however, it still unearthed three highly decorated ‘Ballyalton’ bowls, hundreds of shards of pottery and some flint tools including a javelin head. High levels of phosphates found on the chamber floor confirm it was used for ancient burials.

This dolmen was at the southern end of a large cairn that measured approximately 10 * 30 metres. Most of this cairn has, with age, unsurprisingly disappeared but two parallel lines of stones can still clearly be seen. When it was originally built it would have had the appearance of that shown in the reconstruction photo below:

Known locally as ‘The Hag’s Chair’, the cairn is associated with the Cailleach, the mythical goddess of Winter. Legend has it that she would fly down from her home on Slieve Gullion to sit on the dolmen at Ballykeel, which served as her throne. Sacred rituals and ceremonies were likely performed here in ancient times.

crime scene tape on white

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Slieve Croob Trail

Who Slayed Steve Crook In The Slieve Croob Area?

Steve Crook has been found murdered in the Slieve Croob area, and although we know his surname is quite appropriate his petty crimes didn’t deserve such a gruesome end. Although his body was found dumped at the Slieve Croob car park it’s not clear that he was murdered here and the clue trail starts on the Castlewellan Road east of Rathfriland.
  • The Slieve Croob Trail is a self-guided driving Whodunit Hunt that starts between Rathfriland and Castlewellan and ends at the old market town of Ballynahinch.
  • You will discover quite a number of historical places on this murder mystery trail as well as see beautiful scenery. En route you’ll visit one of the most photographed neolithic sites in Ireland, two early-Christian souterrains, stop at a village where the remains of a flax mill are located, and learn about the evolution of Ballynahinch which dates back hundreds of years with a turbulent history.
  • The clue route from start to end is 32 miles, or about 51 km.
  • There is generally moderate walking, about 2 ¼ miles / 3 ¼ km in total.
  • It is recommended to allow four hours to solve this murder mystery.
  • Accessibility – once out of the car the terrain is generally fairly flat, but a few clues require reasonable mobility. We recommend taking sensible shoes… AND a torch if you fancy going on an Indiana Jones type adventure!

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The starting point is shown in the map below:

crime scene tape on white

(c) 2023 – the term ‘Whodunit Hunt’, associated logo, website content, and all Hunt routes, ideas, photos, are all protected by copyright. Any copying, impersonation or distribution of anything embraced by our copyright is intellectual theft and therefore unlawful and illegal. Please respect the law as well as all of our hard work.