Knockroe Passage Tomb

Knockroe Passage Tomb is a prehistoric site of the Neolithic period in the townland of Knockroe in County Kilkenny, Ireland, about 10 km north of Carrick-on-Suir. It is known locally as 'The Caiseal'. It is National Monument no. 655, managed by the Office of Public Works on behalf of the state.

There are two chambers on the site. The larger western chamber is aligned so that sunlight at sunset at the winter solstice shines along the passageway. Many of the stones lining the passageway carry artwork. Quartz is scattered around the site and may have formed a wall at the entrances. The chambers would originally have been covered with earth.

The tomb shows similarities with the tombs at Newgrange and Knowth, both in County Meath. Excavations led by Muiris O'Sullivan of the Department of Archaeology at University College Dublin have been conducted for several years at the site. No firm construction date or details of the finds are given, so these remain unknown.

A passage tomb is a burial chamber covered in earth or stone, with a narrow access passage made of large stones. The type is found along the Atlantic seaboard of Europe, and in Ireland and Britain passage tombs often lie in large clusters, called cemeteries. Ireland has four great ones, known as the 'big four': Brú na Bóinne in the Boyne Valley, Loughcrew, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore. Most passage tombs were built in the fourth millennium BCE.

The Boyne Valley is the heart of the tradition. Brú na Bóinne in County Meath comprises at least ninety monuments, dominated by Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, built in the 32nd century BCE.

There are two chambers on the site: the larger western chamber is aligned so that sunlight at sunset at the winter solstice shines along the passageway. There is artwork on many of the stones lining the passageway. Quartz is scattered around the site: this may have formed a wall at the entrances. The chambers would originally have been covered with earth.

There are similarities with the tombs at Newgrange and Knowth (both in County Meath).

Excavations, led by Muiris O'Sullivan of the Department of Archaeology at University College Dublin, have been conducted for several years at the site.