Audleystown Court Cairn facts for kids

Audleystown Court Cairn, August 2009

Audleystown Court Cairn is a very old burial place, like a special tomb, located near Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. It's called a "dual court grave" because it has two main entrances. This important historical site is found close to Strangford village. People long ago used this place to bury their dead. When archaeologists explored it, they found human bones, animal bones, pottery, and tools made of flint stone.

What Does It Look Like?

This ancient tomb is shaped like a long, wide wedge, almost 27 meters (about 88 feet) long. It's made of local stones, and its sides were built using dry-stone walls. The roof is now gone, but it was once covered with heavy stone slabs.

At each end of the long mound, there's a shallow open area called a forecourt. Each forecourt leads into a burial area with four separate rooms, or chambers. These two burial areas almost meet in the middle of the mound, with only a small gap between them. Each burial area is about 10 meters (33 feet) long and about 1.2 to 1.5 meters (4 to 5 feet) high.

When Was It Found?

This special dual court grave was discovered by a farmer in 1946.

What Did They Find Inside?

Archaeologists, led by AEP (Pat) Collins, carefully dug up the site in 1952. They found many interesting things inside the tomb.

• Human Remains: They found bones and teeth from at least 34 different people. About 17 individuals were found in each of the two main burial areas. The bones were not in their natural positions, suggesting they were placed there after the flesh was gone. Some bones even showed signs of being burned.
• Pottery: Over 15 pottery pots were found, though they were broken into pieces. Most were simple, plain bowls, but some had decorations. A few bowls were very special because they had small handles, similar to pots found in Scotland. Others had unique finger-mark patterns, like those found in Scotland and the Isle of Man.
• Tools: Many tools made from flint stone were discovered. These included a large javelin head (like a spear tip) and 12 arrowheads shaped like diamonds. They also found smaller scraping tools and knives.
• Animal Bones: Bones from various animals were also present. These included ox, sheep, goats, pigs, and even a dog or wolf. Bird bones were found too. In one of the chambers, archaeologists even found a horse bone.

Gallery

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  Sign to Audleystown Court Cairn, August 2009

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  Site, Audleystown Court Cairn, August 2009

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  Audleystown Court Cairn, August 2009

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  Revettment, Audleystown Court Cairn, August 2009