Portal Tomb from Eskaheen
The west-east oriented portal Tomb of Eskaheen or Iskaheen ( Irish Uisce Chaoin ; German mild water - also known locally as "Morton God Dolmen") is the largest portal Tomb on Inishowen and is located about 3.0 km northwest of Muff in County Donegal in Ireland near the border with Northern Ireland . In the British Isles, portal tombs are megalithic systems in which two equally high, upright stones with a door stone in between form the front of a chamber, which is covered with a sometimes huge capstone.
The Tomb portal is located about 6.0 m from the western end of an approximately 25.0 m long and 14.0 by 5.0 m wide, about 0.7 m high trapezoidal cairns . It is covered by a thin layer of peat from which some large stones are exposed.
The chamber, covered by a huge slipped capstone, was about 2.0 m long and up to 1.4 m wide. Two portal stones, 0.3 to 0.5 m apart, stand on the front. The collapse of the northern portal stone caused the capstone to slip and caused both portal stones to lean south. Its long axis is somewhat removed from the chamber. It is unclear whether this is an original feature or was caused by the shifting of the capstone. The side and rear walls of the chamber are intact. A single stone forms each side. A gable end stone that can often be observed stands on the east side. There are two layers of corbels on the north side stone and the end stone. The capstone now only rests on the northern portal stone and the upper corbels on the northeast side of the chamber.
The name is a bit of a mystery, but “Morton” means “townland near the moor or the swamp” or has Viking connections , as Morton is the Norse word for Martin and there are Viking settlements near this place at Quigley's Point.
See also
literature
- James Fergusson: Rude Stone Monuments. In all countries their age and uses. Murray, London 1872.
- Kenneth McNally: Standing Stones and other monuments of early Ireland. Appletree, Belfast 1984, ISBN 0-86281-121-X .
Web links
Coordinates: 55 ° 5 ′ 22 " N , 7 ° 17 ′ 41.7" W.