Just outside of Castletown, Balladoole is one of the Isle of Man’s most impressive ancient monuments.

Balladoole has been the site of many excavations that have revealed a number of significant finds including prehistoric flints, Bronze Age burials, Iron Age earthworks and early Christian lintel graves.

A Viking boat burial which dates back to between 850-950 AD was discovered in 1945 by a German refugee and a team from the internment camps based on the Island. The group were originally looking for an Iron Age hill fort but found the burial instead, lying within early Christian lintel graves, which contained a 36ft long Viking ship and the bodies of a man and woman.

In 1918, an ancient Keeill chapel dating between 900AD and 1000AD and a Bronze Age grave dating to 10000 BC were also discovered at the Balladoole site in an area now known as Chapel Hill. 

Information boards are provided next to each section of the site and for more information on the history of the site as well as dioramas of the burial and artifacts from the excavation, visit the Viking Gallery in the Manx Museum in Douglas. 

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Castletown, United Kingdom
See all sites in Castletown

Details

Founded: 850-950 AD
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in United Kingdom

More Information

www.visitisleofman.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Juan McGuinness (18 months ago)
Very underwhelming site. Nice views.
David Radcliffe (19 months ago)
Better parking needed. A bit muddy. Impressive views.
Zobo 75 (2 years ago)
A 10th century AD Viking boat burial which dates back to between 850AD and 950AD. Lying within early Christian lintel graves was a 36ft long Viking ship and the bodies of a man and woman. In 1918, an ancient Keeill chapel dating between 900AD and 1000AD and a Bronze Age grave dating to 1000 BC were also discovered at the Balladoole site in an area now known as Chapel Hill.
Daz Aylward (DarrenA) (3 years ago)
Interesting iron age hill fort and Viking ship burial. A short walk from a small gate and lay-by for perhaps 3 cars.
Charles Sherran (3 years ago)
Lovely views
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.