The focal point of the prehistoric cemetery at Carnbane East is the Passage Tomb T, a huge mound with a diameter of about 35 metres, a height of about 6 metres and an entrance facing east (95°). The entrance is closed by a padlocked gate, the keys may be obtained from the Loughcrew Gardens Coffee Shop, 3 kilometres southwest from here.
Once opened the gate the passage is accessed and it's possible to see the wonderfully decorated stones that flank the passage up to the main chamber which is cross-shaped like in many other passage tombs in the area. The upright slabs are decorated mainly with concentric circle motifs and other curved images. Two stones also carry dozens of cupmarks. The main chamber is divided from the passage by a septal slab. The stones of the chamber have similar decorations too. The backstone of the chamber is known with the name of Equinox Stone. It has many symbols on its east face, four of them depict the Sun. The passage is aligned to the east so, during the two days of the Equinox in the year, the light at the sunrise reaches the chamber and illuminates the symbols.
This suggests that these passage tombs were also ritual monuments and important points for the community of farmers who built the tombs around 3000 BC. On the north side of the large mound there's a big kerb stone which has been cut in the past to give it the appearance of a chair or a throne. The stone is known as "Hag's Chair". It has a cross carved on its top surface.
We came here for the first time on June 15th, 2001 and I am quite sure that it's here where we lost our driving licences.
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