Megalithic tomb - portal tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

This very impressive portal tomb is located on the valley floor of a steep-sided glen close to a stream. A massive wedge-shaped granite roofstone (L 5.1m; Wth 4.5m; D 1.75m) covers a chamber (int. dims. L 3.1m; Wth 1.42m) and antechamber facing west. It rests on the two front portal stones (H 2.6m and 2m respectively) and three sidestones. A doorstone separates the main chamber from the antechamber. There are some granite boulders at the rear of the tomb wall which may have been part of an additional chamber (Borlase 1897, 2, 390-92; Ó Nualláin 1983, 96; Turner 1983, 5). There are two deep depressions on the upper surface of the roofstone, with groves leading to the corner of the stone. It has been suggested that this be an original drainage feature.
The monument was taken by Guardianship into State Care (Nat Mon 291)

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout and Margaret Keane

Uploaded on: January 15 2017

References

Borlase, W.C. 1897 The Dolmens of Ireland, 3 vols. London. Chapman and Hall.

Ó Nualláin, S. 1983 Irish portal tombs, topography, siting and distribution. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 113, 75-105.

Turner, K. 1983 If you seek monuments: a guide to the antiquities of the barony of Rathdown. Rathmichael Historical Society.