About the model
Cairn T (Carn Bán, the Hag's Cairn) is the central and largest passage tomb on the summit of Carnbane East (Slieve na Calliagh), the highest point in Meath, in the Loughcrew cemetery of c. 3300 BC. A cairn about 35 m across and 6-7 m high, kerbed by 37-38 slabs with the decorated 'Hag's Chair' on the north side, covers a short east-facing segmented passage (about 5 m) and a cruciform chamber: an octagonal central chamber with a corbelled beehive roof and three side cells, 28 decorated stones. Conwell cleared it in 1865 when the passage was roofless and two thirds of the chamber vault had fallen; the passage roof and chamber top were rebuilt in concrete (OPW, 1964 per the SMR; 'late 1800s' per carrowkeel.com) and a grille fills the missing keystone. Since Brennan and Roberts (1980) the equinox sunrises are known to light the decorated backstone of the rear (west) cell. The interior has been closed since 2018 for a cracked lintel.