Court Tomb of Croaghbeg
The Court Tomb of Croaghbeg (also called Pontabane Carn ) is located in the townland of Croaghbeg ( Irish An Chruach Bheag ) about 6.0 km west of Killybegs in County Donegal in Ireland . Croaghbeg is an almost north-south oriented court tomb , whose heavily disturbed court ( German "Hof" ) and the gallery are curiously located at the northern end. The grave was excavated between 1969 and 1973. 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 .
description
It has a cairn about 37.0 m long and 14.0 m wide with a gallery of two chambers and a side chamber in the southwest. The cairn is held in place by dry stone masonry and is made of head-sized stones, but the original length is unclear.
The presence of the secondary chamber helps determine the dimensions of the original courtyard. If this chamber was positioned like other court tombs in Donegal, the court was probably about 10 meters long and at least 8.0 meters wide. The eastern side of the exedra of the courtyard is in better condition and ten stones are in situ up to the entrance .
The entrance to the gallery is about 80 cm wide and is flanked by massive post stones, between which there is a threshold stone. The massive lintel is 2.2 m wide and 0.9 m thick and rests on the post. The lintel has been smoothed on all sides, but the back of the stone is rough. The gallery is 5.5 m long and is divided into two chambers by segmenting posts. They are about 65 cm apart and also have a threshold stone at their base. A second lintel about 2.1 m long and 0.8 m thick rests on the segmentation post, this stone also forms the top of the chamber. The front chamber is roughly square and 2.6 m long and 2.7 m wide. The rear chamber is trapezoidal and 2.7 m long. It varies in width from 2.3 m to 3.0 m. The sides of the gallery are formed on each side by three slabs between 1.2 m and 2.0 m high. The middle side plates are centered on the segmentation posts. This is a setup that can also be seen in the Shalwy Court tomb gallery . The end stone of the chamber is divided horizontally. The lower element is 1.3 m high and closely connected to the 0.75 m high upper one. The sides and back of the gallery carry cantilevered stones, which are still in situ and in some places preserved in two rows. In addition, several large stones lie on the surface of the cairn, which are probably shifted cap stones.
The side chamber is 1.8 m long and 1.6 m wide, the sides and back are formed by large panels that are up to 1.75 m high. The entrance consists of two high posts 0.4 m apart with a threshold stone in between. During the excavation it was found that the floor of the chamber was partially covered with a neat stone paving.
The finds consisted of only nine flint tools , some of which were in poor condition.
Nearby, in the same valley, are Shalwy's Court Tomb and the remains of Bavan's Court Tomb .
See also
literature
- Peter Harbison : Pre-christian Ireland - From the first Settlers to the early Celts. London 1988, ISBN 0-500-27809-1 .
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 37 '24.4 " N , 8 ° 32' 54.3" W.