Portal Tomb by Kiltiernan
The portal Tomb von Kiltiernan ( Irish Cill Tiarnáin , also called the Giant's Grave ) is located south of Stepaside on a western slope of the Wicklow Mountains in County Dublin in 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.
It is also called "The Sphinx" because of its impressive capstone. It is about 6.5 m long and 5.3 m wide and 1.55 m high at the thickest point. It weighs an estimated 40 tons. The sloping capstone slipped backwards and is now supported by a concrete block. The two portal stones measure 1.4 and 1.25 m, the grave faces west. A small door stone blocks the access to the chamber between the portal stones. The Tomb portal bears some resemblance to the nearby Brennanstown dolmen . There are a number of smaller boulders scattered around the front and in a smaller cutout at the back.
The chamber was excavated by Marcus Ó hEochaidhe , who found an arrowhead, three hollow scrapers, a round scraper made of flint and pottery. The Tomb portal was immortalized in a large painting by Gabriel Beranger (1725–1817) in 1776 and appeared in an engraving by George Petrie (1790–1866) in his "Excursions through Ireland" in 1820.
Nearby is the Wedge Tomb Ballyedmonduff .
See also
literature
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
Web links
- Description and pictures (English)
- Description and picture (English)
Coordinates: 53 ° 14 ′ 19.1 ″ N , 6 ° 12 ′ 25.7 ″ W.
