Ballymakellett : Court Tomb
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Visit Notes
Thursday, 1st January 2009
The remains of this monument are in stark contrast to those at the previous site I visited today (see Commons (County Louth)). That site is just a small gallery , but at this site the gallery is hidden within a mound and the remains of the court are visible. These court stones are at the east end of the mound and the entrance stones are probably the largest I have come across at 2m high.
Next to the southern entrance stone there is just one of the court stones remaining, but the other arm of the court is more intact. Four or five stones remain on this side. In front of these there is a huge slab that at first sight appears to be one of the court stones, but is more likely to be the entrance lintel or a displaced roofstone. A field boundary runs around this side of the monument and it is this that has protected this arm of the court.
From the entrance you can see a large V-shaped notch between two hills - Slievenaglogh and Round Mountain. Although the tomb is not aligned on this dip there could be a significant stellar/solar alignment here to investigate. The gallery is aligned northeast-southwest with the entrance at the southern end.
Access to the tomb is obtained via a path that starts from a gate at a road junction to the northwest of the site.
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About Coordinates Displayed
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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. |
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