Court Tomb from Legland
The Court Tomb of Legland ( Irish Leithghleann ) on the spur of Bessy Bell Hill near Derrygonnelly in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland was excavated in 1940. By the beginning of the 20th century, one of the few court tombs at Fermanagh was covered by a circular cairn about 17.0 meters in diameter and 7.0 meters high. 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 confusion of stones and large irregular rock under the hawthorn bushes has a flat yard ( English court ) at the northeast end. Three stones on the south side of the entrance (one with a layer of quartz on the inside) are complemented by three stones in the northern part of the exedra . Between the two, panels of the drywall appear to be undamaged. A series of low threshold stones form a barrier across the front of the courtyard between the ends of the straight arms of the half-court.
The entry stones to the gallery are unusual because one of the long sides faces the exedra and the other faces the gallery. The approximately 8.0 m long gallery is divided into two unequal chambers by large posts. Two low stones are placed below the massive end stone, parallel to the walls. They are the remains of a stone box that had a capstone. The north wall of the rear chamber and a plate of the north wall of the front chamber have been removed. The south side is intact. Several panels lean against the outside of the south wall: presumably the ceiling panels of the gallery. This wall is built into a modern field wall. There are piles of stones on the south side of the tomb.
literature
- James Fergusson : Rude Stone Monuments in all Countries; their Age and Uses. Murray, London 1872, ( digitized ).
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 24 '7.6 " N , 7 ° 52" 51.8 " W.