Irish megalithic tombs

Ireland has a wealth of impressive historical monuments. In Ireland there are four types of megalithic tombs: court cairns, passage tombs, wedge tombs and portal dolmens.

Court tombs

Main article: Court tomb

There are about 300 of this type of tombs in Ireland. These tombs have an open unroofed, east facing entrance court which leads into a number of chambers. There could be maybe four chambers in total. Each of these chambers can contain inhumations and cremated remains. The chambers on the inside are roofed by the method of corbelling. Orthostats {Huge standing upright stones} are put into position. Then reasonably flat rocks are placed on top of each of the two orthostats. Two more flat rocks are slid barely half - way over the preceding rocks. This continues until a pair of flat rocks nearly touch each other. A capstone is placed on top so the whole structure looks like a hut. Around these chambers is a reasonably low dry stone wall with orthostats at the extremity. These tombs are sometimes called a lobster - claw cairn. They generally average 23 - 24 metres. They are usually rectangular. They faced east towards the rising sun. So the soul met its creator. The general theme is that all the tombs face east.

Passage tombs

Main article: Passage grave

There are many tombs of this type in Ireland. Examples include Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth.The passage tomb is a large mound of earth or stone with a narrow passage leading from outside to a central chamber or chambers.

Wedge tombs

Main article: Wedge tomb

Between 500 and 550 of these wedge tombs survive today. They are generally found in the west and north west of Ireland. Their sloping roof and narrowing walls at one end produce their characteristic wedge shape.

Portal dolmens

Main article: Dolmen

There are 163 portal tombs in Ireland. The majority located in the northern half of the country. The tomb as a straight sided chamber often narrowed at the rear. The entrance is marked by tall portal stones. On top lays a huge single cap stone resting on the portal stones on the front and sloping at the rear where it rests on the backstone. In the majority of cases the tomb entrance faces the east towards the sunrise. This is not always the case though as many tombs face different directions. Examples of Portal Tombs Kilmogue, Co. Kilkenny, Poulnabrone in the Burren, Co Clare and Knockeen, Co. Waterford.

See also

• List of megalithic monuments in Ireland

Sources

• Shire Archaeology - Irish Megalithic Tombs.

External links

• Megalithic tombs of the Boyne Valley, Ireland
• A comprehensive guide to Megalithic Ireland