This is really what this trip was about. A magnificent court tomb that is in near-perfect condition. I was surprised to see that it faced almost due east. Nephin mountain dominates the southern horizon here, so a north-south alignment would have brought that into the picture. However, looking east I was amazed to be able to see [[985]]. This is over 30 miles away across a few headlands and the sea!
The tomb doesn't actually point directly at it though, but a little to the south of it.
The site is easy to find, but for some reason the stile into its little compound has barbed wire across it. The ground within this area is very wet and stepping stones have been set out to make it a drier experience.
The court is almost complete. The arcs of orthostats form a semi-circle in front of the the massive entrance jambs. The lines of the arcs are continued by sweeps of drystone walling and flat blocks lying on their sides.
The gallery is close to 6m long and split into three chambers by two pairs of jambs. A low stone sits infront of the entrance and the original doorstone has been pushed aside and leans against one of the entrance jambs.
The cairn reaches to the top of the gallery walls and surrounds the court. Inside the gallery it is possible to make out the corbels that once held up the massive roofstones, which now lie on the cairn to one side.
Here's where the excavators missed out in my opinion: They could have replaced the roof and given us a prefect court tomb, instead of a very good one. Considering it was excavated as recently as 1990, I am amazed at the lack of forward thinking here.
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_All Sites Visited On 25th October 2004 « Previous Site Next Site »
| K Kelly from Mayo |  |
A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
 Drumcollagh (Co. Mayo) |  Barracashlaun (Co. Leitrim) |  Cloghanmore (Co. Donegal) |
 Tamnyrankin (Co. Derry) |  Knockoneill (Co. Derry) |  Castletown (W) (Co. Mayo) |
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This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |
