Ballakelly

Nearest town:
Douglas (7km NE)
OS reference:
SC321719
OS sheet:
95
Latitude:
54° 6' 54.86 N
Longitude:
4° 34' 8.54 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Ballakelly (Chambered Tomb) by postman

The cupmarked stone is to the right of the fence post behind the wire

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Sep 10, 2023
Image of Ballakelly (Chambered Tomb) by fitzcoraldo

“The Oakland Circle”
From
Archaic Sculpturings of Cups, Circles, &c. upon Stones and Rocks in Scotland, England & other Countries
by
Sir J.Y. Simpson, Bart, MD, DCL
Published by
Edmonston & Douglas
Edinburgh 1867

Thanks to Jan rockartuk for identifying the site

fitzcoraldo
fitzcoraldo Jan 31, 2007
Image of Ballakelly (Chambered Tomb) by Kammer

Taken 27th August 2003: The site viewed from the south west, with the chamber to the left.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Apr 23, 2004
Image of Ballakelly (Chambered Tomb) by Kammer

Taken 27th August 2003: The site viewed from the south, with ‘prone slabs’ in the foreground.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Apr 23, 2004
Image of Ballakelly (Chambered Tomb) by Kammer

Taken 27th August 2003: The rectangular chamber, viewed from the south east.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Apr 23, 2004

Articles

Ballakelly

Kammer
Kammer Apr 23, 2004

Visited 27th August 2003: Ballakelly sits in a small circular enclosure in a field adjacent to the A25. Parking is appalling, and the road is relatively busy (for the Isle of Man). We squeezed our little car into a gateway across the road, but it felt temporary, and contributed towards a very brief visit.

The stones that make up the site fall into two distinct groups. The chamber on the north west side of the site, and a scattering of stones on the ground to the south east. When we visited there was quite long grass growing around the stones, which combined with the restrictive perimeter fence made it difficult to figure out. Having read up a bit on the site since our visit, I realise we missed both cup marks and the end of a splitting wedge lodged in one of the scattered stones.

Would have liked more time to figure this one out.

Miscellaneous

Ballakelly
Chambered Tomb
Kammer
Kammer Apr 23, 2004

The book Prehistoric Sites in the Isle of Man, published by Manx National Heritage, gives a good description of Ballakelly:

The site consists of a simple rectangular chamber built of two very large stones with an end wedged between them, and an open on the south-east side. The chamber is exposed to its full height, roughly 3 feet. A kerb of heavy stones, only one of which is missing, is set close to the chamber. The larger kerb stone behind the chamber bears rows of cupmarks.

According to the book the scattered stones to the south east of the chamber (or ‘prone slabs’) have all been moved from elsewhere. The solitary standing stone to the north east of the site is thought to be an original feature.

Sites within 20km of Ballakelly

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