Laghtacarn

National Monument No. 604. Situated on level ground just W of the village of Ardcrony. A burial chamber is exposed in a partly demolished round cairn now some 20m in diameter. The chamber, uncovered during bulldozing operations in 1977, was subsequently excavated (Wallace 1977, 3-20). The cairn, originally about 33m in diameter, may have been enclosed by an earthen bank and ditch. The chamber, polygonal in plan and orientated N-S, is centrally placed in the cairn. It is 1.75m long, 1.4m wide and 0.7m high. An inward-leaning slab forms each of its sides, two upright stones form each end, and roofing is by means of a single large slab. The skeletons of two males and a decorated pottery vessel were found on the paved floor of the chamber. A bone from one of the skeletons yielded a radiocarbon determination corresponding to a calendar date of c.3500 BC (Brindley, Lanting and Mook 1983, 1-9). The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

A Neolithic passage tomb, dating to approximately 3500–2500 BCE. Its significance lies in its association with early megalithic funerary traditions in the region, reflecting communal burial practices and ritual activity during the Neolithic period.