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Behy : Court Tomb

CountyMayo
Grid RefG 048 405
Longitude9° 27' 45.49" W
Latitude54° 18' 15.48" N
Nearest TownBelderg (5.5 Km)
OS Sheet23
UTM zone29U
UTM x469896.12310706
UTM y6017477.7259082
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Visit Notes

Sunday, 16th March 2003

This is a very unusual example of a court tomb because it has a couple of extra features to those more often found in court tombs. One of these is still visible today and the other was re-buries after excavation to protect it. The former is that the gallery has two side chambers, which make it look more like a cruciform passage tomb and the other (buried) feature is that the court was formed from drystone walling rather than the more usual orthostats.

Actually, as so many tombs seem to have lost their court yards it may actually be that the 'norm' was for the courts to be made from drystone and it is just that the orthostatic one have survived better. Only more excavations will tell.

Only the rear of the gallery (with its side chambers) is visible now and the whole structure is below the level of the peat, making it rather hard to find. One good thing is that it shows you how tall these structures were inside as it retains two huge corbel over the backstone which reach some 2m above the floor.

I could not be sure about the main gallery, but both side chambers have a paved floor.

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Random Gazetteer

A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments

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4 Km (ESE) there is a Cross Pillar at Doonfeeny.
500 m (NE) there is a Visitor Centre at Ceide Fields.
9.1 Km (ESE) there is a Court Tomb at Gortatoor.
5.3 Km (ESE) there is a Court Tomb at Ballyglass.
6.4 Km (W) there is a Hut Circle at Belderg.

A Selection of Other Court Tombs

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