Goward Dolmen

Goward Dolmen is a megalithic dolmen or cromlech situated between Hilltown and Castlewellan The huge granite capstone has slipped from its original horizontal position. The capstone is 4m long and 3m wide, with an estimated weight of 50 tons. The capstone has shifted sideways on its supporting uprights, possibly due to the collapse of the backstone, and now overhangs the chamber on its north side. The unsegmented burial chamber is 9 feet long with an entrance on the east, flanked by orthostats which could be the remains of a crescent shaped facade. Its largest stone is the enormous capstone which has fallen sideways, revealing the megalithic chamber it once covered, in which a cremation urn and a flint arrowhead were found in 1834. Stones standing independently at the eastern side of the monument suggest that it may once have had a forecourt facade like a court-tomb.

Address
Goward Road 2, Hilltown, United Kingdom

Established
Prehistoric