Annaghmare
The Court Tomb of Annaghmare ( Irish Áth na Marbh - "ford of the dead", locally known as Black Castle) in "Ó Fiaich Country" in the south of Armagh near the border with Ireland is one of the best-preserved megalithic systems of this type in Ireland . It originated around 3500 BC. And lies in a forest near Crossmaglen ( Irish Crois Mhic Lionnain ) in Northern Ireland , on the west side of the Slieve Gullion . The facility stands on a natural rock outcrop on the edge of a former moor area. Court Tombs are among the megalithic chamber tombs ( English chambered tombs ) of the British Isles . With around 400 specimens, they are found almost exclusively in Ulster in the north of Ireland or in Northern Ireland.
The approximately 20.0 m long and two meter high cairn is trapezoidal. The south-facing, semicircular forecourt is more than eight meters in diameter. Its orthostats are connected with intermediate masonry. In English, such a construction is called "post-and-panel". One of the orthostats sticks out clearly in height. The extremely rare three-chamber gallery, divided by side pillars, is seven meters long. Two more chambers with separate entrances were added at a later date at the northern end of the Cairn . The entire structure shows that the number of chambers within the gallery (2–4) is part of the basic concept.
Annaghmare was excavated in 1963/64 and has some special features. The forecourt is only in this complex in the south. The most conspicuous feature is a small menhir southeast of the center, of which only a small stump can be seen. In addition to bones and corpse burn, only flint was found .
literature
- Dudley M. Waterman: The Court Cairn at Annaghmare, Co. Armagh. In: Ulster Journal of Archeology. 3rd Series, Vol. 28, 1965, pp. 3-46, JSTOR 20627414 .
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 6 ′ 6.3 " N , 6 ° 37 ′ 2.1" W.