Archaeologists discover new Neolithic tomb and rediscover lost site in Galway

Archaeologists have unearthed a significant Neolithic tomb and rediscovered a second lost site in Co. Galway, Ireland, shedding new light on the region's earliest farming communities. The discoveries, led by Michelle Comber and Noel McCarthy from the University of Galway, include two distinct types of megalithic tombs dating back almost 6,000 years.

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The chance to find and excavate sites like these within the area of our larger research project provides a golden opportunity to locate – and attempt to understand – the first farmers of this place.

The Maree area excavation revealed a court tomb, once thought destroyed but now identified as one of the largest discovered at 30 meters long, alongside a previously unrecorded portal tomb. The portal tomb features an impressive 4-meter-long capstone weighing an estimated 14 tonnes. Researchers are particularly excited by the proximity of these two monument types, a feature unique in Ireland. This arrangement offers a rare chance to compare different approaches to burial, ritual, and monument construction during the early Neolithic period.

"The chance to find and excavate sites like these within the area of our larger research project provides a golden opportunity to locate – and attempt to understand – the first farmers of this place," said Comber, a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Galway. She noted that the scale of the tombs suggests a substantial community, and their placement side-by-side raises questions about the interaction between different traditions.

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The size and scale of the tombs, and the effort required to construct them, reflect a sizeable community living in and farming this part of coastal Galway. Their location right next to each other represents a meeting of two traditions, raising new questions about the nature of that interactions.

McCarthy, also an archaeology lecturer at the university, emphasized the rarity of such discoveries. "The opportunity to investigate a site like this is not something that occurs very often," he stated. "Discovering the second monument has added a layer of complexity that informs our understanding of culture and society in the Neolithic period and beyond." The exceptional preservation of original burial deposits within the portal tomb's construction pit offers fresh insights into the monument's earliest uses.

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the opportunity to investigate a site like this is not something that occurs very often. Discovering the second monument has added a layer of complexity that informs our understanding of culture and society in the Neolithic period and beyond.