Keentagh

Millin Bay Cairn Archaeological evidence indicates human activity in the region dating back to the Neolithic period. The Millin Bay Cairn, a megalithic tomb, is a complex late Neolithic burial monument constructed between 3000 and 2000 BC. It appears now as a low, oval grassy mound aligned north-south, with a surrounding oval stone setting. The cairn contains a long stone cist, a burial chamber constructed of flagstones with a lintelled stone roof, which held the skeletal remains of at least 15 individuals, neatly sorted and stacked, and the cremated remains of another person. The unburned bones were not arranged as full skeletons but rather sorted into groups of skulls, long bones, and so on, suggesting they were placed elsewhere for some time prior to interment. Around the central cist, an oval of stone slabs was set, externally supported by a bank of shingle, and the oval area was filled with shingle and slabs. Outside the shingle bank, seven more small cists were found, some containing cremated bones. The area was then covered with a long mound of sand in the outer oval setting of stones. A number of the stones were decorated with pecked curvilinear and rectilinear motifs, suggesting a link with the passage tomb tradition. The site also contained flints, a piece of a polished axe, pieces of a Neolithic pottery bowl, and fragments of Carrowkeel ware pottery. ==Gallery==