Chapel Hill, Balladoole, Archaeological site near Castletown, Isle of Man

Balladoole is an archaeological site set on a promontory near Castletown, in the south of the Isle of Man, where burial mounds and the remains of old structures sit side by side. The hilltop position gives a clear view over the surrounding fields and the southern coastline.

A keeill stood here from about 900 to 1000 AD, and Gerhard Bersu's 1940s dig found seventeen early medieval stone-lined lintel graves. The 11-metre clinker-built oak boat, dated 850–950 AD, was laid directly over and into those Christian graves, which may have been a deliberate slighting of them. Bersu also found a Bronze Age cist of about 1000 BC on the north side.

The hilltop holds graves from different traditions placed close together, which makes it easy to see how burial customs changed over time. Walking around the site, visitors can pick out the outlines of old structures and the raised ground of former graves.

The site lies 350 metres uphill from the shore, on the highest point of Chapel Hill, so the climb requires some effort. The ground is uneven and the excavated mound was partly removed, leaving the stone cairn outline exposed. Sturdy footwear helps after rain.

Excavations found a Viking ship burial placed directly on top of an earlier Christian grave, suggesting the Norse arrivals knew the spot was already sacred. The boat itself had decayed, but the iron rivets and the outline of the hull were still visible in the soil.