Megalithic tomb - wedge tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

On the N-facing S slopes of the shallow basin of the River Fergus c. 35m to the W of a cashel (CL016-094----). Views are limited except to the NE where the E Burren hills are visible. Indicated on the 1840 OS 6-inch map and named ‘Dermot & Grania’s Bed’ on the 1916 ed. Referred to by Westropp (1905, 210-11) as ‘Labba’ or ‘Lobba yermuth’ and described as tapered and sloping to the E (L 4.5-4.8m) with an ESE-WNW axis. He described the S sidestone (L 3.07m; Wth 1.3m; T 0.18-0.24m) as having a hole in its side and the W extent is identified as an entrance. Westropp later (1906, 465) describes the site as ‘collapsed’. Recorded in the Megalithic Survey as CL.64 (De Valera and Ó’Nualláin 1961, 53) with the following details.
A wedge tomb with a WNW-ESE aligned chamber (L c. 3.5m; Wth c. 2m) which has been cut by the base of a stone fence at SE. The N side of the chamber comprises a single slab (max. L c. 5m; max. H c. 1.5m; T 0.2-0.25m) which has collapsed outwards and broken into two pieces. The S side of the chamber comprises a single slab that has broken into two pieces. The W portion of the S sidestone (L 3.15m; H 1.35m at W; H 1.15 at E; T 0.15m) leans outwards and is chipped along its top edge (L 2.8m). The E portion of the S sidestone (L 2.1m; max. H 0.9m; T 0.15m) is out of line with the W portion and a stone set outside and to the W (L 0.9m; H 0.3m; T 0.2m) may be a packing-stone or an outer wall stone. The W extent of the chamber comprises a single slab (L 1.5m; H 1.35m; T 0.15-0.2m) which leans outwards. The top end of this stone is level with the height of the W portion of the S sidestone. A broken slab in the chamber may be a portion of the roofstone. The backstone in the E (L 1.3m; T 0.1-0.15m; max. H c. 1m) leans to the S and a broken slab (L 2.05m; Wth c. 0.75m; T 0.15m) which leans against it may be another portion of the roof-slab. Two stones located 1.7m to the E of the backstone may be all that remain of an outer wall. Both the N stone (L 0.5m; H 0.2m; T 0.1m) and the S stone (L 0.95m; H 0.4m; T 0.2m) lean heavily towards the E.

The following items have been uploaded:
CL016-093----_01.pdf Details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume I. County Clare. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1961)
CL016-093----_01.jpg View of wedge tomb from SW.

Date of upload: 28 December 2011

References

Westropp, T. J. 1905 Prehistoric remains (Forts and Dolmens) along the borders of Burren, in the county of Clare. Part 1 – The Eastern Border. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 35, 205-29.

De Valera and Ó Nualláin 1961 Survey of the megalithic tombs of Ireland, vol. i, County Clare. Dublin. Stationery Office.

Westropp, T.J. 1907 The cists, dolmens, and pillars of the western half of the county of Clare. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 26C, 447-72.