Portal Tomb by Knockeen
The portal Tomb by Knockeen is located in the townland of Knockeen ( Irish An Cnoicín , German "hill" ) in County Waterford in Ireland . In the British Isles, portal tombs are megalithic systems in which two upright stones of the same height with a door stone in between form the front of a chamber that is covered with a sometimes huge capstone.
It stands in the hedge of the disused Kilburrin Cemetery, about 4 miles southwest of Waterford . It is a typical megalithic complex of the southern group in Leinster . William Borlase (1695–1772) already noticed its solidity and the perfection of statics and design.
description
The height of the Portal Tomb of 3.6 m is impressive. The two portal stones have heights of 2.7 m and a heavy threshold stone between them that delimits the narrow, antenna-like anteroom and closes the access. Contrary to the more common form of the type, the facility has two tiered capstones, which applies to several facilities in this region (e.g. Haroldstown Dolmen in County Carlow ). The upper massive, horizontally lying 3.6 m long and 0.9 m thick capstone rests at the front on the portal stones and at the back on the smaller capstone, which rests on supporting stones and leans against the portal stones. It covers a rectangular chamber, which is wider than the portal because the northern side stone is not behind but next to the associated portal stone.
It is an Irish national monument .
See also
literature
- Kenneth McNally: Standing Stones and other monuments of early Ireland . Appletree, Belfast 1984, ISBN 0-86281-121-X .
- Seán Pádraig Ó Ríordáin: Antiquities of the Irish Countrysides. Edited by Ruaidhrí de Valera, Methuan, London & New York, 5th edition 1979; ISBN 0416856101 ; P. 111
- Peter Harbison : Guide to the Naional Monuments in the Republic of Ireland Gill and Macmillan, Dublin 1992 ISBN 0-7171-1956-4 pp. 238-239
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 12 '27 " N , 7 ° 9' 33" W.